Soulless Knight
by dragonsorceress42
Summary: To save Kagome from the brink of death, will Kouga give up everything? KogaKag Prologue added
1. Prologue: The War

**A/N: Okay, I realized there were a few holes in my story, so I'm writing this prologue to fill those holes. It takes place in the future, about a decade after Kagome's first trip through the well, I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Prologue: The War**

"Dammit, Angel! Duck!"

Angela did so, barely avoiding a blast of pure black energy their enemy had thrown at them. At the edge of the field, Cliodna was both trying to keep Rei-an from getting hurt as well as fighting Captain Amagai. The man looked a little annoyed.

And Angel ducked again.

"Fuck; trade!" she shouted. She slammed her foot down into the ground and vines shot up, surrounding both the evil soul sorceress – their enemy – as well as her lackeys and Captain Amagai, distracting them long enough for Cliodna to lunge at the bitch and Angela to scurry over and place herself between Rei-an and Amagai.

The Japanese man batted away a thick swath of vines, muttered a complicated spell under his breath – in the span of about two seconds; Angel was jealous – and turned her vines to dust. She gritted her teeth, pushing aside the sudden nauseous feeling in her stomach that always told her that her plants had been harmed, not that she hadn't already known. It made her want to puke, but she bit the bile back and snarled viciously instead.

"Jerk," she growled, mindful of the child clinging to the tree just behind her; she must be getting soft, watching her language like that. When did that happen?

His smirked made her want to punch him. "My, I see you've been somewhat domesticated, dear Angela," he crooned.

Her eyes narrowed, even as she called up a few old particles of some centuries-old carnivorous plant deep under the surface of the Earth. The particles morphed to that of their former glory and when a giant, tentacled tree came above ground, she grinned. "Say hello to *Ya-te-veo, Captain. It's been a while since it's had company."

The Captain gulped, eyes widening as the tentacle-like branches of the tree shot at him.

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Cliodna grunted, dodging a blast of energy even as she lunged at the bitch, her one remaining sai digging into the flesh of her side and causing thick, copper-scented blood to flow. The sorceress grunted and backhanded her, sending her stumbling backward, though she managed to keep her balance. Barely.

Which was just as well, since the evil bitch was suddenly upon her, nails digging into her arms and dagger at her throat.

"What the hell?" she demanded with a grunt as she bucked and jerked them into a roll, trying to dislodge the sorceress as well as keep her sword from her throat. She finally threw the woman away from her, only to realize her mistake a moment too soon. The bitch had attacked her as a diversion while Amagai entrapped Angel - and... was that a tentacled tree? - in a magical cage long enough to begin preparations for some sort of spell. There was a brilliant flash of light...

... and Angel turned around, swearing she'd heard someone following them. "Oi, did you hear that, Cli?"

"Hear what?" Cliodna asked with a sigh, giving the sidewalk behind them a cursory glance.

"I think someone's following us..."

"Is it a clown this time?"

Angel glared at her sister, only for Rei-an to tug on her shirt, looking seriously confused. "What, squirt?" she demanded, frowning.

"Um... What just happened?" the child asked curiously. "Weren't we just fighting the sorceress?"

Angel and Cliodna exchanged worried looks before they knelt on either side of her. "What are you talking about, baby?" Cliodna asked, frowning. "The sorceress? You mean the queen, right? Why would we fight with her?"

"Um... Maybe because she's the worst thing to ever happen to humanity?" Rei-an suggested in caustic tones, rolling her eyes. She was slightly surprised when both women covered her mouth and looked around nervously.

Satisfied that they were completely alone, Angel hissed in a whisper, "What the hell are you talking about? That's treason, squirt."

"I'm only six," Rei-an retorted smartly.

Cliodna shook her head. "That doesn't matter. Now, Rei-an, what are you talking about? We've never fought against the queen-"

"Yes! You have! I remember! Like, she had General Amagai do some sort of spell or something, and there was this brilliant flash of light-"

"Time travel?" Angel murmured to herself, then shook her head. "No. If that was true, Rei-an wouldn't remember it, right Cli?"

Cliodna would have answered, really she would have, but the guilty look on her daughter's face right then stopped her in her tracks. "Rei-an... You wouldn't remember, right?" she demanded softly, in a tone only a mother could have.

"Um... Have you considered that I might just be special?" the six-year-old asked hopefully.

"Rei-an," her mother and aunt chorused, frowning down at her.

Rei-an sighed. "Oh, alright, alright. I'm a time sorceress," she muttered. In the silence that followed, you could have heard a pin drop, but as it was, Rei-an was counting down the seconds until-

"You're _what_?" Cliodna asked, fisting her hands.

"Generally, time sorceresses transcend time," Angel deadpanned. She smiled innocently at Cliodna's glare. "You know, those people who-"

Her sister growled softly and listened in satisfaction as Angel shut her mouth with an audible snap. "Now... when were you planning on telling us this, Rei-an?" she asked almost sweetly.

The child laughed nervously. "Oh, you know-"

"Never?" Angel inserted.

"P-pretty much," Rei-an admitted. "But now you know and-"

"Uncertified sorceress. Illegal. Please go to your nearest certification office to amend this," a voice ordered in metallic, machine tones. "A fine will now be issued. Please go to your nearest financial office to pay it."

The three turned to see an android standing there. Rei-an swallowed and stepped back from it. Angel snarled. "What? We've gotta pay a fine? Damn..."

Cliodna's eyes narrowed to slits at the metallic man standing before her, suddenly the android's blue metal body started to turn orange, then it slowly turned to a bright red that gave off an almost eerie glow. Angel barely had enough time to grab Rei-an and duck behind Cliodna before, "Warning; internal temperatures rising beyond safe operational parameters, overload and meltdown immanent." The android suddenly burst into flames, "Error; connection to terminal lost, unable to report." The android then melted to the ground, in a puddle of liquid metal.

Cliodna took a deep, calming breath and turned around to see a big toothy grin from Rei-an, and an immense scowl from Angel. "WHAT THE HELL?" Angel yelled at the top of her lungs, Rei-an cringed at the volume and turned, cocking her head at her aunt. "You do realize we'll be hunted now!? If it could issue a fine, then it knew our identities."

"It would have happened either way, I won't let them harm my daughter!" Cliodna stated with a very deep scowl of her own.

"What are you talking about?" Angel looked confused now, "It's just a registration process, we both went through it and we're fine, nothing will happen to Rei-an."

Cliodna sighed in frustration, "Did you not read that new book I got you last month?"

"You got me a book?, hmm..." Angel seemed deep in thought.

Cliodna was getting aggravated, "Yes, it's that thick stack of papers sitting on your writing desk in your room, I saw it there just yesterday."

"Oh," Angel perked up, looking back at her sister. "You mean the new paper weight I suddenly found on my pillow one night? You know that really hurt, you should warn people before they just plop down on things like that."

Cliodna rolled her eyes and Rei-an tried fruitlessly to hold back a fit of giggles, "Anyway," Cliodna started again, looking back at her sister. "That was the newest addendum to the world laws, you were supposed to read it."

"Oops, hehe." Angel chuckled nervously, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I knew I was forgetting something, sorry."

"Chapter 3, page 3-6, paragraph 2." Cliodna continued as if Angel hadn't just said something stupid, "Time travel is illegal!"

"Duh, I knew that, that is not a new law." Angel retorted.

Cliodna glared at Angel, "Severe punishment will be administered. Any sorceress found with time travel gifts will be put to death immediately."

"Oh, I guess that's a problem..." Angel muttered.

"But you forgot the best part about that law." A deep male voice said from behind them, startling them. He continued while the trio spun to face him. "The part where I get to arrest and charge any associated with the Time Sorceress."

Angel's eyes narrowed. "Oh, General Takashi! Nice of you to drop by!" she gushed while waving erratically. "You still owe me fifty Euros for last month!"

He scoffed, crossing tanned and toned arms. "Not my fault you're a whore."

Angel scowled at him darkly. "I was talking about the Poker- the POKER! Not your inadequacies in bed!" she shouted. "Keep your panties on, jack-"

"Child," Cliodna said.

"-o-lantern," Angel finished lamely.

Takashi grinned at Angel's mild tongue and was about to snap off another witty retort when he heard someone behind him clear their throat, that's when he remembered the contingent of 50 men he brought with him. He sighed, "Not that this witty banter hasn't been fun, but in accordance with the law, you are all under arrest."

It was Cliodna's turn to scoff, "As if," she raised her hand and let a blast of fire come forth, it grew and surrounded Takashi and his men. Rei-an covered her ears as the screams of agony reached her, she let her tears fall freely, but held back the sobs. When the fire died and the smoke cleared, only Takashi was left standing, surrounded by the charred remains of his men.

"Well then," Angel stated, trying not to show her shock, "I guess he didn't over exaggerate everything, he really is immortal."

The look of rage on Takashi's face grew as he looked around at his now dead men, "You little BITCH!" He yelled as he snapped his gaze up to Cliodna's stoic expression, she showed no grief over the lives she just took. "You'll pay for that."

"Angel, keep the general busy." Cliodna said, " I have a plan, but we'll need some time."

"We?" Angel looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Rei-an and I are going to take a little trip, if all goes according to plan, I shall be able to explain when we get back." Cliodna responded. Angel nodded at her as Cliodna turned and took Rei-an's hand, leading her away from the scene before her.

"Get back here, who said you could leave!?" Takashi spat, he removed a baton like object from a clip on his belt and flipped the switch near one end. A red beam, that smelled of acid, snaked loosely out of the end and hissed as it hit the grass. He snapped it forward, aiming for Cliodna's head, but was suddenly blocked by a woven mass of vines that hadn't been there a moment before.

"Tisk tisk, General," Angel turned her head back towards him. "You really must learn to be more patient, it is a virtue after all." She smiled as she sent another wave of her deadly vines racing after him, he dodged and lashed at them with his acrid whip.

Cliodna led Rei-an over to a tree that was far enough away from the general for her comfort, she knelt down in front of her and wiped some of the tears off her cheeks. "I'm sorry you had to see that, precious, but I had no time to shield the horrid sight from your eyes." Rei-an nodded to her mother, but said nothing, so Cliodna continued. "I need to know, can you take us back in time, to where ever the Qu- Soul Sorceress messed up the time line?"

Rei-an nodded slowly, "Of course," She sniffled slightly. "It wasn't that long ago, the fracture should still be evident enough to find."

Cliodna smiled at her daughter, "Good, I need you to find it then, and take us far enough before it happened to stop what ever she did. Can you do that, and quickly?"

Rei-an smiled slightly and nodded, "No trouble at all; though, I will have to go with you, I can't just open a portal and send someone through."

It was Cliodna's turn to nod, as she gave her daughter another encouraging smile. "I expected as much, lets go." Rei-an nodded again, turned away from her mother, and closed her eyes. She raised both her hands in front of her and started chanting in... Druidic? Where had she learned that? Cliodna filed that question away as something she would ask later, druidic spells were complicated enough, without having someone constantly bugging you.

The wind started to pick up as a glow formed around Rei-an, she stopped chanting, but did not open her eyes, "I found the rift, but it's almost healed; if we're going to go, it must be now. Place your hand on my shoulder, you must be touching me for this to work."

Cliodna nodded and did so; Rei-an immediately started chanting again. The glow around Rei-an stated to grow brighter; Cliodna was suddenly blinded by a very bright flash of light, and cringed at a pull in the pit of her stomach that felt like someone just snagged her intestines with a fishing hook and was trying to pull them out through her navel.

As suddenly as it had started, the pull and the bright light ended, and they both fell forward. It was pitch black, night time; Cliodna lifted her head and saw Rei-an passed out beside her, but obviously breathing. She looked around the moon lit landscape and barley made out a beach in the distance before her, turning her head she saw an dense forest behind her.

She felt weak and exhausted, but she forced herself to stand on her wobbly legs anyway. When she felt stable enough, she tried to take a step forward, but she stepped on a rock and started to fall forward instead. She didn't even have time to scream, before a pair of muscled arms were wrapped around her waist. She tried to put her hands up, but she face planted into a well built bare chest instead.

"Easy lass, I got ya!" His voice was deep and soothing, he spoke in an older form of Gaelic, but she could still understand it. "Are you ok, lass? My brother and I saw you two appear while we were flying, you looked a but unsteady," He righted her, but did not release his hold.

She tried to nod, but the landscape before her started to spin, the world teetering on it's axis. The male tightened his grip as black smudged the edges of her vision. "R-rei-an... Preciou..."

And he watched in mixed amusement and consternation as she slumped, passing out. "Lass? Lass, ya alive?" He felt an intense urge to poke her, but ignored it. "Maybe we should get back..."

Glacialis snorted. "Maybe you're right." And then, under his breath (earning an annoyed glare for the trouble), he muttered, "Idiot."

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**A/N: I think my beta ran away screaming, something about commas and periods.**

**Anyway, sorry this took so long, it was way harder then I thought. This is the mighty prologue that shall explain all, at least I hope so, hehe. Chapter 4 is half finished, it has a nice surprise for you all, because you're all so patient with my hectic life and suicidal muse. See you soon, please R&R.**


	2. Chapter 1: Aftermath

**A/N: Good afternoon all you lovely victims, **_**clears throat,**_** I mean readers. This is my first fanfic, so I do apologize if it is a bit out there or choppy. Just read and review; especially if you find something that needs to come to my attention, thanks. **_**Smiles and skips from the room.**_

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Chapter 1: Aftermath**

The cave was dark and damp and he could hear water dripping from the stalactites; smell the moss covering most of the floor. But other than this, it seemed clean enough, at least for a temporary den, as well as the fact that it was rather large. He really had no other choice, the sun had already set a while ago, and now a chill was setting into the air.

Kouga walked over to a large, flat, moss covered shelf that stood near the back of the cave, almost as if it were meant as a bed. He placed a sleeping Kagome on the shelf, a snoring Shippo still tucked tightly in her arms, and she stirred only slightly before shifting to sleep again. He could still see the residue of tears glistening on her cheeks, curse that Inuyasha for making her cry, why did he have to go and die.

Kagome started to fidget in her sleep again, clutching the little kitsune closer to her chest, as if he might fade away. He dug his claws into the soft moss before pivoting around to face the other wolf demons behind him; they were all busying themselves with setting up camp, only ever quickly glancing at their agitated leader before returning to their tasks, but barley any speaking occurred.

At least a dozen or so of his comrades had managed to survive the battle with Naraku, all with only minor wounds that would heal within the next day or two. _'We were lucky'_**,** Kouga thought to himself as he watched a few of his comrades drag in a couple make-shift litters, one holding the wounded Miroku – Sango limped alongside, unwilling to leave the hoshi's side for even a moment - and the second held the dead body of Inuyasha.

He would be bringing Inuyasha back to Kaede's village, he had promised Kagome, despite what he felt for his now dead rival. Kirara brought up the rear of the group, in full demonic form, limping slightly on her left front paw. They placed Miroku's litter near where the fire was being started off to the side, Sango collapsing next to him on the ground, while Inuyasha's covered litter was placed just inside the entrance, just enough to be out of the rain but otherwise away from the living.

Kirara limped over to Sango's side and transformed back into her cute, cuddly, and fluffy self. Kouga watched as she jumped up on top of the taijiya's belly, only mewing slightly as she jarred her paw, and then curled into a ball to sleep. Sango stirred from her obvious reverie at this and opened her eyes, she placed a hand on top of the little fire cat and closed her eyes again, mumbling something he couldn't make out. Kirara had understood it though, for she mewed lightly again before closing her eyes to sleep as well.

Ginta walked over and dropped Kagome's yellow bag next to the shelf, nodding at Kouga, before walking around to check some of the more severe wounds of the others. Hakkaku also walked up to Kouga, with a somber look on his face, instead of his always cheery and/or mystified look.

"I smelled a spring nearby, would you like me to take a couple men and fill the water skins?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

Kouga nodded and slid down to a seated position, leaning his head back against the shelf. "Keep a look out at all times. If you smell or hear anything odd, come back at once," he said. He was unwilling to accept Naraku's defeat without some caution, although he knew Hakkaku would not need reminding of such things; he was as good at running as Kouga, if not as fast.

Hakkaku nodded and went to pick out a couple of the less injured men, Kouga watching as he also managed to drag Ginta along, although this surprised no one. Ginta and Hakkaku had been inseparable for as long as he could remember. Pack brothers normally were, and they were real brothers on top of that; but they had also stuck by Kouga through his entire reign, even if some of his younger decisions were a little out of sorts.

Kouga reached over to Kagome's yellow bag, grabbed her blanket out of the top, and shook it out. As he gently lay the blanket on top of her, her eyes flew open and looked at him for a moment, devoid of their normal sparkle.

" Inuyasha?" she questioned, trying to rub the sleep from her unfocused eyes. Her eyes finally focused on Kouga, and she looked away, "Oh, it's you Kouga-kun, sorry about that." She muttered with a forced smile. She shifted Shippo to her lap as she sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the shelf.

Shippo woke at the movement and looked up at his adoptive mother, he noticed the vacant look in her eyes as she stared across the room, he followed her gaze and spotted Inuyasha's covered litter. He looked back up at Kagome, "Youbo, are you ok?" Deep concern laced his voice as he looked at her with big green eyes.

Kagome turned to Shippo and smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'll be fine Shippo, thank you." She lifted Shippo off her lap and placed him on the shelf next to her, before sliding off onto her feet. She straightened her shirt and brushed off her jeans, "I need some air, I'm going for a walk. Stay here Shippo, and listen to Kouga-kun." She said, ruffling the little kitsune's hair before starting to walk towards the cave entrance.

Kouga spun around and grabbed her arm, pulling her back, into a tight embrace. "I don't want you out of my sight. Naraku may be dead, but there are other dangers out there."

Kagome sighed and tried to push him off of her, but his hold was firm, "I'll be fine, I can look after myself you know, just let go. I need some time alone, time to think, I need air." She gave one final shove and broke free of his hold, she took off towards the exit again before he could say another word; she didn't even pause to glance at Inuyasha's body as she passed.

Kouga looked kind of hurt as he watched Kagome walk out of the cave, he wanted to follow her and make sure she was ok, but all he could do was stand there. Shippo jumped up on Kouga's shoulder and stared after Kagome as well, "It's ok Kouga-sama, she just needs some time, she'll be ok."

Kouga nodded and Shippo jumped down from his shoulder, he dashed over to Sango and Miroku, laying down between them, only Kirara stirring at his sudden appearance. Kouga thought on what both Shippo and Kagome had said, and for once, found he agreed with the kitsune. He would give her some space, let her grieve, but be there if she needed him. He walked over and gracefully plopped down by the fire to warm up; he had to think of something to help her, he couldn't let her keep going on like this. He kept an ear out for noises from outside, just in case.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It was a little further to the stream then Hakkaku thought it would be, but the four of them did not really mind the lengthy walk; it allowed them an escape and to get some air. Kouga was agitated over Kagome's depressed state, and none of the pack knew what to do for him, much less Kagome. Kagome was their pack sister, and Kouga's future mate; they would do what they could to mend her broken heart.

Hakkaku was brought out of his musing abruptly when Ginta grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a bush, causing him to land hard on his ass, "Ginta, what the…?"

Ginta shushed him, frowning slightly, and pointed to his ears to signal him to listen for himself. He pointed in the direction of the stream.

Hakkaku perked up his ears and listened for what Ginta meant, at first hearing nothing. He glowered and was about to admonish Ginta for what he thought to be a prank - how dare he scare him like that? - but he stopped with his mouth half open when he heard it. It was the sound of a little girl humming a lullaby very softly. She sounded very young, perhaps no more then 6 or 7; her voice, though soft, easily filling his ears. When he looked, he saw that she was right next to the stream. He frowned slightly and gave Ginta a curious look. What would a little girl that young be doing out here alone, at this time of night?

They all jumped half out of their furs when the little girl spoke; her voice was very sweet and almost hypnotic, "You can come out now, silly wolves, I don't bite." She giggled.

Hakkaku nodded at Ginta as he stood and walked out from behind the bushes, the other three close behind.

The little girl was sitting on a large bolder right next to the stream, looking straight at them and smiling. She indeed appeared to be around the age Hakkaku had assumed, having waist length, dark chestnut brown hair; her sapphire blue eyes sparkled and seemed to dance in the moon light, almost as if they had their own life behind them. Her body was petite, but perfectly proportioned. She wore a silver kimono embroidered with blue roses that almost matched her eyes perfectly, the obi was a reverse coloring. Her skin was pale; it seemed to glowed beneath the gentle rays of the moon, she seemed almost ethereal. The gentle smile she wore seemed to light the clearing in the same glow, almost as if they were no longer on the earthly plane.

Hakkaku was the first to recover from his shock; he walked up to the little girl and bowed, sensing the other 3 doing the same behind him. He was also the first one to find his voice again, "Forgive us for intruding, we just needed some water for our pack, we will not be long." He bowed again and motioned for the other 3 to start filling the water skins, as they complied he straightened up again and looked straight at the little girl, who was still smiling at him. "If you don't mind my asking, what is someone so young doing out here alone, and at night?" Hakkaku blurted out before he could stop himself.

The little girl giggled again, "What makes you think I would be that brash, wolf? I am never left alone, even when I wish to be." She blushed slightly and nodded to the tree line just behind him, on the other side of the stream.

Hakkaku turned around and looked into the dark abyss of the forest beyond, at first seeing and sensing nothing, he thought the little girl was joking with him. Then, a pair of burning red eyes appeared where he was looking, and he heard a very deep, menacing growl emanate seemingly from all around them. Ginta and the 2 wolf youkai at the waters edge jumped, all looking at the eyes on the other side of the stream, but they were too terrified to move.

The beast stepped out of the forest and up to the waters edge on his side of the stream, the ground shaking slightly as he walked. He looked down at them with his huge faceted eyes; they whirled with various hues of red, like a never ending inferno. The beast was massive in size; his body was comprised of millions of bright red scales, each the size of three dinner plates put together. On top of the beast's head were two spiraling horns, they looked to be made of diamonds, and were razor sharp. His foot and a half long claws looked to be the same, with four claws to a foot; his mouth was full of razor sharp teeth of the same as well. The coloring is his scales reflected in his crystal like claws, teeth and horns, making them look as if they were on fire, the flames dancing as he moved. A pair of massive wings were folded upon the beast's back; they reached from the base of his tail, to the base of his skull, tipped with more of the same deadly crystal like talons. Hakkaku could not see the tail, as the beast was so large that the second half was still hidden in the dense forest.

The youkai energy that they all now sensed was so massive and strong that it seemed to pool around the beast, enveloping the once serene clearing with terror and dread, it was stronger then anything any of them had ever seen before. How had Hakkaku missed such a strong aura? There was no way Kouga would have missed it, how had this beast stayed hidden? Hakkaku realized that his mouth was hanging open and snapped it shut; he didn't dare blink though, or look away.

"Stop it right now, you're scaring away my new friends; this isn't fair, just go back to hiding," the little girl plead, a mixture of tears and anger lacing her words, her ethereal glow had disappeared. Hakkaku's attention snapped back to the little girl, who was no longer smiling, but crying. She was standing right next to him, she was no taller then his hip.

The beast stepped back into the forest and lay down, keeping his eyes on the wolf youkai; Hakkaku found his voice again as the aura dissipated slightly. "We should go anyway; Lord Kouga will worry if we take too long." He bowed to the little girl as she wiped the tears from her face and gave him a half smile. "Maybe we shall meet again some time; it was a pleasure while it lasted, milady." Hakkaku smiled at her as he straightened up and beckoned to the others, they pried their eyes from the still glaring beast and followed Hakkaku out of the clearing and into the woods, back towards the cave.

The little girl looked back to her beast as soon as they were out of sight, nodding as if in farewell. The beast chuckled slightly as it stood and walked away down stream. The little girl smiled back in the direction of Hakkaku before she walked away, following the river up stream.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kagome walked blindly into the forest just outside the cave, she wasn't sure where she was going, she just needed to get away from his body. She walked deeper and deeper into the ever thickening forest, she knew Kouga would worry if she strayed too far, but she just couldn't bring herself to turn around. When she finely stopped and looked around, she realized that she could no longer see the cave, or the mountain side in which it rested. She backed up against a large tree and slid down it's trunk to sit on the ground, she wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them to her chest, then she rested her forehead on her arms and closed her eyes.

She stayed like this for a while, not wanting to go back; it still hurt. She shifted slightly, trying to relieve the numb feeling in her rear end, barely registering the tears that were still falling from her eyes; how long had she sat there? She suddenly sensed a youkai aura, very close to her, she opened her eyes and lifted her head to look around. Her vision was slightly blurry from her tears, she could hardly make out the bushes in front of her.

The youkai was getting closer, she wiped her eyes and tried to stand, but her legs felt like rubber after sitting as she had for so long. She reached behind her back, only to remember she had left her bow and quiver back at the cave, she silently cursed herself for being so careless. She looked around her and saw two fist sized rocks, picking them up, she was finally able to stand and backed against the tree she had been sitting under.

She looked back up just in time to see a giant cobra looking snake youkai emerge from the bushes, "Well, well, well, what have we here?" The cobra hissed in a raspy voice, it coiled itself within striking range of Kagome. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to wonder the woods alone little girl? You might run into a big bad wolf." He made a raspy noise that sounded like a sad attempt at laughing.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "That was the saddest pun I've ever heard, you should really work on some new material. Besides, I've already met the 'big bad wolf', and he's one of the nicest youkai I've ever met." She chided, "And he will come looking for me any moment now." She added with more haste then she intended, fear starting to lace her voice. What if he didn't come, she had been outright vile to him back at the cave, she wouldn't blame him if he didn't.

The cobra youkai laughed and flicking his tongue, "Kouga will not make it before I finish with you, little girl." He laughed again at the look of shock on her face, "oh yes, I know who your wolf is, I can smell his vile stench all over you. I will especially enjoy watching him find your corpse, right after I'm done digesting it."

Kagome charged one of the rocks with her miko powers, making it glow pink, before throwing it and hitting him dead center of his forehead. It sizzled and left a burn mark; he shook his head and hissed at her, showing the poison dripping from his razor sharp fangs, "Bitch, you will die slow for that." He yelled as he lunged at her.

Kagome tried to jump out of the way, but he was to fast for her. One of his poison fangs grazed her right leg, tearing through her jeans and ripping a nice gash on her leg. "AHHHH!" She screamed as she fell to the ground on all fours, she could feel the effects of the poison starting to work already, as her vision blurred slightly.

The youkai wrapped his tail around Kagome's middle and lifted her off the ground, she tried to purify him with her miko powers, but they seemed to just sputter and die. The youkai just chuckled slightly as he squeezed. "The poison is numbing even your powers, miko; they can not help you now."

Kagome tried to struggle as she felt the air leave her lungs, but her limbs started to feel rubbery and weak. _'So this is how I'll meet my end, after all we went through against Naraku, I shall be devoured by a cobra youkai.__**' **_She thought as the youkai tightened his coils around her, _'it seems almost pathetic, in a way. Maybe I'll get to be with Inuyasha again, share the afterlife with him as well, that would be nice.' _ Her vision started to fade at the edges as she gasped for breath; she gave one last attempt at struggling, before realizing it was a fruitless effort. Her muscles just wouldn't obey, and now the lower half of her body was starting to tingle and go numb, she could no longer feel the blood she knew was dripping down her leg.

Her lungs started to feel on fire from lack of oxygen when she saw it; a pair of glowing fire red eyes at the edge of the tree line, just behind the youkai, watching. The cobra youkai was so tuned into his kill, that he didn't even notice, "I'll be sure to pass on your tragic demise to your beloved Kouga." He laughed again; it seemed to echo through her ears, causing her to cringe.

The eyes beyond the tree line moved as the creature stepped out of the shadows to stand directly behind the cobra youkai, were those wings on his back? "Too bad you will not live that long, filthy wretch." His voice was low and even, laced with the disgust he obviously felt for the youkai in front of him.

"Why you little…" The Cobra youkai spun his head around to confront the intruder, but he was gone. The Cobra youkai spun his head from side to side, trying to find the youkai who was trying to disturb his meal.

"Up here, cur." Both Kagome and the Cobra youkai looked up, just in time to see the other youkai dive from the sky and sever the Cobra youkai's tail with one clawed hand. Kagome fell to the ground, the severed tail releasing her, gasping for air and coughing. The Cobra youkai screamed in pain, his tailless stub flailing in all directions, splattering blood everywhere.

Kagome could feel her consciousness ebbing away, but she held on with everything she had left, she couldn't pass out now. She looked up at her savior, but all she saw was a blur, her eye sight was still being affected by the poison.

The Cobra youkai finally stopped thrashing and looked at his assailant, "You will pay for that, whelp." The Cobra youkai wasted no time in lunging with lightning speed, but he was too slow. The other youkai dodged by jumped into the air, spreading his wings like a parachute with ease, and landing just behind the Cobra.

The other youkai chuckled slightly, "Is that it? A mess of idle threats and slow reflexes? You are pathetic, a disgrace to youkai everywhere." He flexed his claws and gave an almost evil grin, as the Cobra youkai turned to face him, "I shall enjoy dispatching you from this plane, there is no room for weaklings here. Give my regards to the ruler of after realm, for he shall not have me today." He jumped into the air, faster then the eye could follow, he sliced the Cobra youkai in half with one clawed hand, as he came back down.

The Cobra youkai screamed as he turned to dust and drifted away in the breeze, the other youkai landing gracefully where the Cobra youkai had once stood, folding his wings around himself like a cape. Kagome could hold on no longer, she just hoped that this strange youkai had not just saved her so he could finish her off himself, or worse. She slumped forward on the ground as she lost consciousness.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**A/N: Well, that took a lot out of me, tee hee, hope you liked it. Bare in mind though folks, my beta (TheSorrowfulVampress here and on DA) has not finished with this, but I could not wait to get this first chapter up and running. So keep an eye out, there will be some edits to this chapter. But my muse is fleeing for its sanity right now, so I must go catch her and put the shackles back on, lol. So, for those who liked it, I will get the second chapter up ASAP, for those who didn't, oh well. **_**Shrugs,**_** Laters.**

**Oh, one more thing, for those wondering.**

**Youbo** = Adoptive Mother in Japanese.


	3. Chapter 2: Dragon Kin

**A/N: Yay, chapter 2, which means that chapter 1 is complete, no more editing or updating. **_**Does a little dance of joy!**_** Sorry for the wait on this one, not only did my muse keep trying to escape, but she got some of her buddies to assist in an almost flawless plan. But I managed to foil her attempts, which means more chapters for you all, and less headaches for me. She is currently chained under my desk at work, which is where I do almost all my writing, graveyard shift does have it's perks. My muse and I are crying from the lack of reviews, I had to give myself one just to make my muse feel better. Come on folks, you can do better; I need some sugar and candy for my muse here, or I'll never get her to stay of her own volition, please review. **_**Begs shamelessly!**_** Anyway, enough of that, on to the next chapter. **_**Whistles nonchalantly!**_

**Oh, and I decided his name was kinda girly, so Niveus is now named Glacialis. I****t makes sence anyway, bacause of the fact that it is latin, it will be this way for the rest of the story. Sorry for the confusion, thanks for being so patient with me.**

**Niveus = snow**

**Glacialis = ice**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Chapter 2: Dragon Kin**

Kouga paced the entrance to the cave, glancing out at the forest Kagome had disappeared into, every few seconds. Hakkaku and Ginta had long since returned to the cave with the water, but Kagome was still gone, and even Sango, Shippo and Miroku were starting to getting worried. Sango tried to keep her mind busy with tending Miroku's wounds; he had been hit hard in the chest trying to save her, rewarded only with a nasty gash and several broken ribs.

Shippo kept moving around the fire, changing where he sat every few seconds, "Please stop fidgeting, Shippo, your making me nauseous with all that moving." Miroku groaned from his litter by the fire, cringing as even the small chest movement involved with talking sent a spasm of pain through his whole body.

"Sorry Miroku," Shippo chirped, "I just can't seem to sit still, I feel like I need to do something." Shippo hugged his knees as he stared into the fire. He suddenly jumped up and walked over to the cave mouth where Kouga still paced, relentlessly. "Kouga?" A deep throated growl made Shippo jump back as Kouga glanced at the little kitsune, before continuing his pace. All eyes were on Kouga and Shippo, everyone seemed to be holding their breath, "We need to find her, she…"

Kouga stopped and glared at Shippo, making him jump back again. Kouga opened his mouth to yell, but was interrupted by a feminine scream from deep in the forest. "Kagome, no…" Kouga suddenly disappeared into his trademark dust cyclone as he ran in the direction of the scream, not noticing when Hakkaku and Ginta sprinted off after him.

Kirara suddenly transformed into her larger self, and Sango climbed on, her Hiraikotsu already on her back. "Shippo, look after Miroku, We'll bring her back."

Shippo could only nod as tears welled up in his eyes, he watched as Kirara and Sango took off into the air, "Be careful." He yelled after them, then he turned and walked somberly back to the fire, plopping hard on his rump as he stared into the flames again.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The winged youkai watched as a black orb flew from the Cobra Youkai's dust and into the distance to the North-West, before looking down at the unconscious miko, his expression puzzled. What did his mistress find so special about this human? She was just like all the rest, weak and useless. But regardless, he had been given a mission, and he always followed through. He had never failed his mistress yet, and he did not intend to soil his record, or name over a dislike of weaklings.

He was snapped back to reality by a very angry aura, and effortlessly hopped out of the way just in time to avoid Kouga's fist. The ground shuttered slightly as Kouga's fist hit the ground at full impact, leaving a small, fist sized crater as he stood and faced the winged youkai. "You'll pay for touching my woman, Baca." Kouga lunged at the winged youkai with claws, fists and feet. Kouga was so absorbed in his attempt at revenge, and rage that he did not notice Hakkaku, Ginta and Sango arrive and go to Kagome's side.

But the winged youkai did, as he dodged every one of Kouga's attacks with no effort, he didn't even need to unfold his wings to dodge him. He had to do something to get this mad wolf to listen, but his mistress had forbade him from hurting any of Kagome's party or friends. This went on for several minutes, and was getting old fast. Finally Kouga tired and stood, panting slightly, glaring at the winged youkai. Now was his chance to diffuse the situation, he hoped. "Calmer now?" He asked, looking Kouga straight in the eyes. "I did not harm her, I saved her, she was being attacked by a stray Cobra youkai. If you don't believe me, check her right leg. She didn't dodge the Cobra youkai fast enough and got poisoned." He pointed to Kagome, his face emotionless and showing no sign of the exertions he had just been through, unlike Kouga.

Kouga glanced over at Kagome's unconscious form, seeing Sango and his lackeys there, Sango nodding at him. "I've seen the wound before, it was a Cobra youkai." She said in answer to his silent question, "From the look of her sides, she was squeezed in its coils. She would have been eaten next if he hadn't…" Sango bowed her head to the winged youkai, "Arigato!"

Kouga looked back at the winged youkai, growling slightly. He flexed his claws a couple times before relaxing his fighting stance, "Who are you?" He demanded through gritted teeth.

The winged youkai gave Kouga a mischievous smile before opening his wings wide and bowing low at the hips, his right arm crossing his chest in a fist over his heart, "Forgive my manners, Lord Kouga." He straightened again, looking at Kouga, "I am Lord Glacialis Ap Maelgwn, and I have traveled here from an island on the other side of the mainland, called Ireland."

Sango stared at him, he wore a simple pair of form fitting; yet loose brown cotton slacks that came to his ankles, he had on a black belt comprised of a leather strip with a brass ring on one end; it was double looped through the brass ring to hold it in place. His shirt was sleeveless, the same color and material as his slacks; it came just below his rib cage, showing off a perfectly chiseled six pack; he wore no shoes, his skin was pale white, and he had a strange sword at his side that Sango had never seen before. He had Fire red hair, reddish-gold eyes and matching reddish-gold wings. His arms were equally as chiseled, bulging in all the right places, in just the right amount. God he was gorgeous, Sango realized her mouth was open and closed it abruptly, causing a snapping noise that seemed to echo through the trees. She blushed slightly and bit her bottom lip, as Lord Glacialis glanced at her and smiled knowingly, he then turned his attention back to Kouga.

Kouga pretended not to notice this private exchange, "What kind of youkai are you exactly?" Kouga demanded of Glacialis, once again.

Glacialis was getting bored with Kouga's predictable questions and attitude, but he played along with a smile, "A drakon!" Glacialis's smile turned to a frown at Kouga's puzzled expression, "Come now Lord Kouga, I know you were raised in the wild, but even you should know a dragon kin when you see one."

Kouga snarled at this insult, but said nothing.

He saw Sango out of the corner of his eye; she was shaking her head slightly, still looking straight at him with a very serious expression on her face. "The drakon in these lands died out a millennium ago, my father used to tell me stories that were passed down through the last few generations, and none of them ended very well for the Drakon." She hung her head, "Gomen nesai, Lord Glacialis."

Glacialis snarled and clenched his fists, "There is no need for an apology, Milady." He snapped involuntarily, he took a deep, calming breath. "If the drakon here died out, it was because they were weak. Those who were not slain would have taken their own life, as soon as they realized this, it is our way." He took another deep, calming breath and unclenched his fists, only now realizing he had cut his palms with his own claws.

Hakkaku and Ginta exchanged looks of their own in the following silence, oblivious to the fact that they had once again been forgotten. Ginta spoke up first, "Kouga, we need to get Kagome-nee-san back to the cave, other youkai are bound to attack if we stay here for too long."

Ginta shrunk back behind Hakkaku as Kouga glared menacingly at him, "What? You think I can't protect my woman from some mangy youkai riffraff?"

Hakkaku spoke up this time, "That's not it at all, Kouga; we only suggested that you take her back and avoid the needless fighting." Kouga growled deep in his throat, taking a couple steps towards the two of them.

Sango's head snapped back up, and she looked straight at Kouga, "Stop it, Kagome doesn't want anyone else fighting unless they must, that is all they were trying to say. Now, you may want to sleep out here, but I'm taking Kagome back to the cave." She stood up too fast and immediately regretted it, her vision started to spin as she was hit with a dizzy spell, she started to sway.

She felt a pair of firm, clawed hands encircle her waist from the front, before she could fall. "Easy now, lass." Glacialis cooed, concern lacing his voice.

Sango placed both hands on his chest for support; she could feel his chest muscles under his shirt, they were rock hard and chiseled like the rest of him. Her head stopped swimming and she looked up into a pair of reddish-gold eyes, with slits for pupils. "A-Arigato, M-Milord!" She stammered, gorgeous and caring… She shook her head of these thoughts, she was in love with Miroku, this was just a passing fancy, it had to be.

"We need to get you some place safe." He stated, "your blood will attract others." He answered in response to her confused look.

Sango slowly looked down at her left side, the wound she had gotten in the battle with Naraku was open again, and bleeding all down the side of her Kimono. She nodded and took a step towards Kirara, gasping at the pain as she was slowly lowered to her knees. Glacialis was crouched next to her, supporting her weight easily, he didn't even feel it when Sango dug her blunt nails into his arm.

He slowly stood her back up after a minute, "I'll carry you, there is no way you can ride the fire Neko in your condition." He offered, "Wouldn't want you falling to your death, would be a waist of a beautiful woman." He smiled as she looked up at him with a slight defiant fire in her eyes.

"Fine," Sango conceded, after several minutes. "Kirara, come." She beckoned to the Neko, who transformed to her smaller size and jumped into the Taijiya's waiting arms, happily mewing at her. She looked back at Kouga, "You'll meet us back there?" She asked. Kouga nodded as he picked up Kagome and sped of in his cyclone, Hakkaku and Ginta hot on his heels. Sango looked back at Glacialis, "ready when you are."

Glacialis nodded, keeping one arm behind her middle back, he placed the other one under her knees and lifted her bridal style; He gave her an apologetic look as she cringed slightly. With one strong push of his muscular legs, they were several feet above the trees tops before Sango could blink. She heard his wings flap a couple times as he positioned himself to glide, she knew he could go faster then this, but he must be being careful due to her injured state.

Glacialis dipped low before soaring up again, Sago gasped and grasped his shirt, as she buried her face in his chest. She heard Glacialis chuckle slightly and looked up to see him smiling, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Don't worry, I have never dropped anyone in my care before, and I'm not about to start now, lass." He looked ahead of him again.

Sango couldn't help but stare at him, his face was the very description of perfect, "Why do you keep calling me 'lass'? What does it mean?" She blurted out, blushing slightly as he looked at her with a warm smile.

"It is what we call the women of my land, it is less formal then lady or milady, but still considered a term of endearment. If you wish it, I shall stop, I would not want to make you uncomfortable in any way." He shifted directions slightly, she could see the top of the mountain a short ways away.

She shifted slightly in his arms, "that is fine, I don't really mind, I was just curious." She said in a low voice, looking down at Kirara. The fire Neko was obviously enjoying being the one flown around for a change, darting her eyes everywhere, Sango couldn't help but chuckle at her. She sighed slightly and snuggled her head into the crook of Glacialis's arm, falling asleep almost immediately.

Glacialis looked below them and noticed that he was ahead of Kouga, it would only serve to entice more unwarranted attack if he should arrive before him. He was off to a bad start already, his mistress was not going to be happy as it was. He sighed inwardly and slowed down a bit, pulling back slightly to match Kouga's location, as well as speed.

He looked down at the sleeping beauty in his arms and smiled slightly, he shifted his gaze to the fire Neko, who was looking straight at him and purring slightly. Kirara did not blink, it amused him slightly. But she could fly of her own accord, so she was probably used to the air rush. He looked back ahead and noticed they were almost at their destination, looking below he could see Kouga was still with him.

He flapped his wings once to put on a gust of speed, bringing him ahead and close to the mountain. He tucked his wings slightly and started his descent, in a very elaborate dive, until he was mere feet from the ground. Opening his wings at the last minute, he used them like a parachute and landed gracefully by the cave entrance, never jarring the sleeping Taijiya. He stood for the minute it took Kouga to get there, ignoring the growls emanating from within the cave. If he wasn't carrying Sango, he would probably have been attacked by now, thank Kami for small blessings.

He smiled at Kouga as he jumped out of his cyclone, landing gracefully next to Glacialis, and glaring. "What kept ya, lad? Been waiting on ya fer a whole minute." He purposely let his Irish accent slip into his flawless Japanese, only slightly glancing at Kouga's two lackeys as they arrived behind him, panting immensely, before returning his gaze to Kouga.

Kouga growled low in his throat, baring a single fang as his lip curled slightly, before pivoting on his heels and stomping into the cave. Glacialis watched as he left, "is he always like that?" He said, chuckling slightly and shaking his head. He turned to Hakkaku and Ginta, they seemed to have caught their breath, nodding at him, although they still looked a little winded. "So, where do I place this lovely Lass? I'm afraid she might bleed to death if we don't do something about it soon." He queried in a sugar coated voice.

"This way!" Ginta said, motioning for him to follow.

"Over by the fire," Hakkaku pointed, "Next to the human Monk, Miroku."

Glacialis nodded and walked over to the fire, placing Sango on a blanket that was laid out next to Miroku. The movement startled Miroku awake, he tried to sit up when he saw Sango, but only managed to cringe in pain and lay back down. "What happened?" His voice was laced with a deep concern, but Glacialis could also hear the pain edging it as well.

He shook his head, "Nothing to worry yourself about, she just reopened her wound. We'll re-bandage it, and as long as she takes it easy, she'll be fine." He smiled at the monk. "As for you, your wounds aren't much better. So, lie back and relax, everything is well in hand, Milord."

Miroku reluctantly nodded, but not before looking at Sango one last time. Seeming satisfied with her current condition, he closed his eyes and alowed sleep to take hold of him once again. Ginta chose that moment to walk over and hand some bandages to Glacialis, he took them with a curt nod.

He took on clawed finger and made an incision in Sango's Kimono with practiced ease, just enough to show and get at the wound, but not enough to cause her to become indecent. He looked at the wound and frowned, "This should have been sutured, no wonder it reopened." He fished in a pouch on his belt, pulling out a sewing needle, some fine thread, and a small blue jar. He placed the needle on a rock by the fire, close enough for the heat to sterilize it, and then opened the blue jar.

A potent smell of herbs hit Ginta's nose as he watched, "What is that?" He asked, wrinkling his nose slightly.

"A numbing salve from my home land, I need to stitch her wound, this will make her more comfortable." He used one finger to scoop out a generous amount and liberally, but gently, applied it to Sango's wound. She stirred slightly, but did not wake. He measured out a length of thread and picked up the now heated needle, threading it and tying the end.

By this point Hakkaku had joined them and sat next to Ginta, "I've never seen anyone do it quite like this before." His mouth was opened slightly in amazement, as he watched with rapt attention.

Glacialis chuckled slightly at the two wolves, they were easily amused it seemed. He then touched the wound, and when Sango did not even shudder, he started to stitch the wound closed. He finished and placed the needle and salve back in his pouch, then placed a cloth bandage over her would and used some kind of sticky contraption that Ginta handed him to adhere it to her skin.

"Kagome-nee-san brought it from her home," Ginta answered Glacialis's puzzled look.

"She uses it to hold her strange cloth bandages in place." Hakkaku informed him, his chest swelling slightly with pride.

Glacialis nodded as he finished, admiring his own handy work before standing, stretching his joints that had become stiff while he worked. Now that his charge was out of danger, he finally took a moment to look around the cave, wrapping his wings around his shoulders like a cape and taking in the strange surroundings. He saw a little kitsune child curled up on a blanket by the fire, obviously so tired that he was oblivious to the excitement that had just gone on around him. He turned his head towards the back of the cave and saw Kouga glaring at him from the corner of his eye; Kagome's leg was already treated and bandaged, beads of sweat evident on her forehead. He walked over to her, ignoring Kouga's growl, and felt her forehead. _She is burning up!_

"The poison is affecting her; we need to keep a cold compress on her forehead to reduce the fever some." He stated, he removed his hand from her forehead and looked up at Kouga.

Hakkaku spoke up from behind him, "We have the water we got from the spring earlier, but it's not that cold anymore."

"That would do, I need it in a bowl with a cloth." Glacialis said, never taking his eyes off Kouga, he could sense the apprehension of Hakkaku and Ginta as they waited for their leaders consent.

Kouga bit back a retort, he knew the drakon was trying to help, but something about Glacialis set him on edge. He had dug his long nails into the moss on Kagome's make-shift bed while watching Glacialis touch Kagome's forehead; taking a deep and calming breath, he retracted them. Nodding to Hakkaku and Ginta, he straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. He would not give this youkai the satisfaction of knowing that he was unsettled by his close proximity to his future mate.

Glacialis did notice, however, and he decided it best to keep his thoughts to himself and let his face remain an emotionless mask of indifference. Hakkaku returned a moment later with a bowl, cloth and water skin. He held them out to Glacialis, who finally removed his gaze from Kouga to take them. He placed the cloth next to Kagome on the shelf, and poured some water into the bowl, handing the skin back to Hakkaku.

Kouga watched as Glacialis closed his eyes and brought the bowl level with his chin, his reddish-gold wings seemed to shimmer slightly as he inhaled and let out a slow breath, rippling the top of the water. A couple of miniscule ice crystals formed on top of the water, Kouga involuntarily shivered as he felt some of the cold breath reach him.

Glacialis's eyes opened as he finished, and he placed the bowl next to the cloth, picking up the cloth and dipping it into the now ice cold water as he did so. He wrung out the cloth and folded it length wise, then placed it atop Kagome's forehead; she seemed to sigh in content as he did this. "Someone needs to refresh the cloth when it becomes warm again, it should keep her fever from getting too high."

Kouga glared at Glacialis again, unable to bite back his words this time, "You're an ice dragon!" Malice laced his words.

Glacialis blinked at him, "Wow, your amazing powers of deduction never cease to astound me. What was your first clue?" Sarcasm laced his voice as he mocked Kouga, this wolf was starting to ware his last nerve rather thin, and he wasn't really sure why. "If you'd like to point anything else out, I'll be resting outside." He snapped, with a little more force then intended. Kouga was somehow able to fray his nerves, and he didn't like it one bit. He needed to meditate back to a calmer state, before he did something he would regret later, making his mistress immensely unhappy.

Kouga growled low in his through as his eyes narrowed to slits, watching the drakon retreat through the mouth of the cave. He would deal with him later, he needed to tend Kagome. He grabbed the blanket at the foot of her shelf and placed it over her, up to her chin, tucking it in around her. He checked the cloth on her forehead, it was already becoming warm. He refreshed it in the water and placed it back on her forehead, before sitting and leaning against the shelf to close his eyes for a few.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Night settled as a dark haired woman walked out onto her balcony, looking up at the stars that were beginning to shine their nightly symphony. Her pitch black hair sparkled slightly in answer, as if there were stars trapped in its loose silky tendrils. The shadow of one of her towers kept her hidden from the light of the moon, like a cloak of darkness to match her very core. She closed her pitch black eyes as a gust of wind gently brushed the hair from her face, reveling pale white skin that seemed to glow slightly in the darkness that surrounded her.

A man in black armor walked onto the balcony, seemingly watching the ground as he walked, he removed his helmet to reveal lackluster black chin length locks of hair as he fell to one knee in front of her. "You sent for me, Sorceress?"

She hummed slightly as she opened her eyes, an evil smirk playing across her lips and then chuckled evilly, sending a chill down the man's spine; he was unable to contain the shudder. She did not look at him; she only walked to the balcony's edge and waited, looking out over the landscape before her. The man dared not move until given permission, he had seen what happened to his predecessors for displeasing this woman; he would not end that way.

She waited only a moment longer, giving the man time to ponder her reason for calling him here, before she spoke. "It seems the Cobra was unsuccessful in the end of his mission, the miko still lives." Her voice was soft and low; it filled the air with warmth that left one wanting more, almost like an angelic song to his human ears.

He chanced a brief glance up at her, a look of confusion playing across his face, _my scouts said nothing to me of this, how could she know this?_ He thought to himself.

Then, as if in answer to his silent question, a black orb flew at an alarming rate from a southerly direction and stopped only a foot from his mistress' face. She reached her hand out, palm up, and gently grasped the orb as it lowered into it. She turned to face him again, amused slightly at the popping sound as his head snapped back down, lowering his gaze to the floor once more. She had known he was looking at her, who wouldn't, but she would have to deal with his breach in etiquette.

She walked over and stopped in front of the man, raising her empty hand, he long nails glittered like diamonds in the moonlight. _A simple warning should suffice, _she thought, she swiped her hand backwards in front of his face; he stiffened and grunted in pain as four red lines of blood appeared on his cheek.

She gently lowered herself to her knees in front of him, looking at him with the same evil smirk still displayed across her lips. She gently grasped his chin with her thumb and forefinger, tilting his head up and leaning forward slightly, till her lips were even with his ear. "Consider that a warning, I do so hate having to brake in a new general once a month, and you do have promise."

He closed his eyes as her warm breath caressed his ear; her touch felt feathery light on his chin and, combined with her angelic tone, seemed to sooth the pain coursing through his cheek. She released his chin and used her forefinger to wipe up a drop of blood that was trailing down from the bottom most scratch to his chin, it sent a chill down his spine and he shuddered slightly.

She closed her eyes and stood as she licked the blood off her finger, savoring the plesent matalic taste. She opened her eyes after a moment and looked down at the general; he was still visably shaking, but still looking at the ground, he apparently had learned his leason. She decided to get straight to the point, "I want you to pick out four of your best scouts, and then send them to find out what is so special about this miko, he weaknesses. The same go for her allies, and then report back to me."

"Yes, mistress." He stood and backed towards the balcony door in a slight bow, helmet still under the crook of his arm.

"Oh, and general?" She added as he was about to turn around, he paused and waited. She smiled slightly before continuing, "A second failer, regardless the reason, will not be tolerated. Am I understood, general?" She watched his rection out of the corner of her eye.

He flinched slightly, at her implication, before bowing again. "Yes, mistress, Completely understood." He tuned and left the balcony, closing her bedroom door behind him, panting slightly at his near brush with death. He would have to be more careful, he could not afford to fail.

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**A/N: That's all folks, tune in next time for exciting chapter 3, bwahahahaha!**


	4. Chapter 3: A Week

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I had some major writers block. But fear not folks, the long awaited chapter 3 is here, you need not worry any more. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the fic. On a side note, for any chapter that has lemon in it, I am also posting this on media miner under the same name. **_**Wonders if Nefra would let her borrow the hentai closet for a couple days, starts drifting into her own world as she thinks of a few things she could add to the closet.**_** Oh, I also decided to change the name of my Drakon, instead of Niveus, it is now Glacialis, I decided that the other one seemed too girly. R&R, laters.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Chapter 3: A Week**

It was still dark outside when Sango awoke, the fire blazed comfortably, casting a drowsy feeling over her as she tried to look around. She noted Miroku sleeping on his litter next to her; she tried to sit up to check the healing progress of his wounds and hissed lightly at a dull throbbing in her side. She suddenly remembered her wound and how she had reopened it, she looked down to the blood stain on the side of her kimono. She marveled slightly at the small incision in the fabric, just enough to get to her wound, but still properly covering her from view. She noticed that the bandage needed to be changed, so she removed it and checked her wound, impressed to see the expert sutures that were there. She noticed the bandaging material sitting on the ground next to her and quickly changed it so as to avoid dirt getting in her wound, and a possible infection.

Sango rolled over slightly to check Miroku's wounds, cringing at the sharp pain in her side, which announced its presence at her movement. Miroku awoke at her touch, he gently grabbed on of her wrists and held it against his chest, "Don't worry about that, someone else can tend my wounds for a bit, you have your own to worry about." He said in a gentle, loving tone.

Sango smiled up at him, "I will be fine, it is already healing well and is but a scratch compared to your wounds. Besides, you got these wounds because of me; I will see no one else care for them while I am still able." She continued changing the bandage on his chest.

Miroku smiled lovingly at her as he watched; when she was finished, he cupped her cheek in his hand and lifted her face to look at him. "I would gladly protect you a thousand more times, even if it means my death, my little koi." He brushed a strand of hair from her face. She pulled herself level with him and laid her head gently on his chest, above the freshly bandaged wound, and closed her eyes, letting his steady heart beat lull her to sleep. He smiled again and closed his eyes as well, gently stroking her hair.

Kouga watched all of this from were he sat, next to Kagome's bed, he sighed inwardly and looked at Kagome's still sleeping form. Soon after everything had calmed down from earlier, the Kitsune had awoken; Kouga had had to stop him from tackling his mother figure while she slept. Shippo had settled for sleeping next to her instead, not wanting to let her out of his sight again, Kouga could only sympathize with the child who was on the verge of tears.

Kouga stood and refreshed the cold cloth on Kagome's forehead, the water was lukewarm now. He did not relish the thought of asking that damn dragon for anything, the youkai had secrets, and he could smell the deception. He would have to watch him close, just because he owed him for Kagome's life did not mean he had to trust him, he would not let him near his woman unattended again.

Kouga was snapped out of his musings when he felt Glacialis' aura, he looked up to see the drakon standing next to Kagome's bed, checking her fever and the water. Kouga growled possessively at the sudden intrusion, but Glacialis didn't even seem to be paying attention. He chilled the water, refreshed the cloth on Kagome's forehead, and turned to leave the cave again.

Kouga dashed around and in front of Glacialis, facing him with a menacing glare. "You have not told us what your doing here, Dragon." He snarled.

Glacialis finally looked at Kouga, meeting his challenging gaze head on. "Nor have you ever asked, Wolf. I cannot read minds, do not expect me to know what you wish to ask." He walked around Kouga and started out the cave again.

Kouga would not let such a challenge go unanswered, not this easily, not with his pack watching. He turned and grabbed Glacialis' arm, "I'm not done with you, you still haven't…"

Glacialis turned and unfurled his wings, soaring suddenly 10 feet into the air, to the roof of the cave. Kouga hung on to his arm, trying to pull himself level with the drakon. _How dare this filthy wolf youkai touch me?_ Glacialis thought as an ice blue glow began seeping into his irises.

Glacialis threw Kouga off his arm, but Kouga made sure to rake his sharp claws across Glacialis' arm as he fell, he landed and knocked his head into the base of Kagome's pallet. He took a moment to shake off his double and blurry vision, caused by hitting his head on the stone pallet, as he stood on his shaky legs. He shook his head again as his vision cleared; he looked at Glacialis as he landed.

The drakon was standing there examining the bleeding gash on his forearm; he looked up at Kouga, fury evident in his now shimmering ice blue eyes. Glacialis closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath, wrapped his wings back around his shoulders, and exited the cave without a second glance.

This infuriated Kouga even more, he was starting to see red, how dare he insult him like this, again?

Kouga was about to follow him when a small hand touched his arm, ever so lightly. He jumped slightly and spun around, only to see Kagome staring at him through groggy eyes. He dropped to one knee next to her stone pallet, grabbing her hand in his, "Kagome, my love, you're awake." He placed his other hand on her forehead, she was still feverish, and he quickly replenished the cloth on her head with cold water.

She started to try sitting up, "How are you feeling?" Kouga asked as he helped her to a sitting position.

Kagome looked around the cave with a glazed and vacant expression on her face; her eyes traveled over the Taijiya and Monk, not even registering their close proximity, continuing on to the entrance to the cave. She looked back at Kouga, confusion and worry clearly displayed across her face now, "How? I don't remember…" She croaked out, her voice cracking slightly from dehydration.

Kouga handed her a water skin, and waited as she downed half the contents, before she continued again. "How did I get here? The last thing I remember was being attacked in the forest by a cobra youkai, then someone with wings saved me… it's all really foggy."

About that time Shippo woke and tried to tackle his now awake mother, but Kouga grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and held him, kicking in mid air. "Easy Kitsune, she's still too weak for your ruff antics, even you could hurt her in this state."

"Fine, I'm sorry." Shippo muttered, crossing his arms and huffing. Kouga gently placed the little kitsune on Kagome's lap; she smiled and ruffled Shippo's hair with one hand. Shippo gave his mother the biggest hug he dared, before sitting down in her lap and leaning against her, closing his eyes as he did so and falling back to sleep.

Kagome chuckled slightly before looking back to Kouga; the haze seemed to have lifted slightly, but she was still obviously confused, but she seemed less worried then before. Kouga smiled at her before placing a kiss on her forehead, satisfied that her fever was less then before, "worry not, koi, I will explain everything."

Kouga explained everything he could, in detail, from the time he had arrived at the clearing. Kagome listened intently, nodding every now and then; she glanced at the cave entrance as Kouga finished, wondering were the drakon was now.

As if he had read her thoughts, Glacialis walked through the entrance to the cave and stopped in front of Kouga and Kagome, wings still folded around his shoulders. He held himself high, with an almost regal poise, an air of nobility surrounding him. He gave Kagome a flourished bow, straightening and addressing only her when he spoke. "I am Lord Glacialis AP Maelgwn of the Gaelic Drakon; I do apologize for my manners the other day, as I fear they might have been misconstrued as a tad rude. But I did feel that saving you from that filth was far more pressing then a proper introduction at the time, if I have erred in any way, please accept my most humble apologies, Milady Miko." He bowed again and waited for her response.

Kouga was a bit taken aback by this short speech; he looked to Kagome and was shocked to see her smiling. "It is quite all right, Milord." Kagome responded, as Glacialis straightened again "I do feel that the saving part was a tad more important as well. How about you just call me Kagome for now, the formalities get a bit old after awhile."

Glacialis smiled back and nodded once, "as you wish, you may call me Glacialis."

Kagome continued, trying her best to keep up her friendly demeanor. "It does appear to me that we have a few things we need to discuss though, where shall we begin?" She studied his face, waiting patiently for his response.

Glacialis seemed deep in thought; it was a moment before he spoke again. "You are correct Kagome; there are quite a few things we need to discuss. None of which I feel comfortable, nor am permitted, to speak of in present company." He nodded towards Kouga's pack, "So if you might just step outside the cave entrance with me, I will answer what questions I can. I warn you though; I can not promise these answers will not create more questions, instead of answering the ones you have already." He bowed slightly and waited.

Kouga growled and stood up, staring straight at the winged drakon lord. "Like hell you will, I will not permit…"

"Will not permit what?" Kagome interrupted him, her face drawn in a very deep scowl. Kouga grimaced ever so slightly at the tone in her voice, but he did not take his eyes from Glacialis. "I do not believe I remember relinquishing my free will to you, Kouga. I will step outside with Glacialis, and I will speak with him in private. And furthermore, I am…" Kagome stopped short as a sudden wave of dizziness hit her and she felt herself falling forward.

Kouga spun around when he heard her stop mid sentence, he saw her starting to fall and stepped forward, catching her and holding her in a tight embrace. "Are you ok, koi?" He asked as he set her upright again, concern laced his voice.

Kagome held her head, trying to stop the room from spinning, "I'm just suddenly really dizzy." She placed a hand on Kouga's chest and gripped the top of his armor. The spinning room suddenly started spinning faster and Kagome had to close her eyes, she gasped slightly as a wave of pain shot up her leg and spine. Tears gathered at the edge of her eyes as the pain increased and her leg started to go numb, she leaned forward and placed her forehead on Kouga's chest plate. "Make it stop, please, it hurts." She gasped as her knuckles turned white from the death grip she now had on Kouga's chest plate.

"Lay her down," Glacialis suddenly spoke. "We need to check her wound; I think it may have festered."

Kouga nodded and reluctantly pried Kagome off of him to lay her down on the pallet she was using for a bed; he could see the tears now falling freely down her cheeks, she opened her eyes to look up at him. Shippo skittered off to huddle by Sango and Miroku.

Glacialis started to unwrap the bandages from her leg wound, going as slow as he could. She gasped again and Kouga grabbed hold of her hand, her knuckles went almost white again as she gave the same death grip to his hand.

He no sooner got the last of the bandages off when both his and Kouga's noses were assaulted with a very pungent odor of rotting flesh, Glacialis wrinkled his nose and looked down, Kouga growled slightly at the sight. It had healed to a scab; the skin was a nasty grayish-green color fanning out with the blood veins, puss evident under the scab.

Glacialis looked up at Kouga, "We have to bleed the wound, it's infected."

Kouga looked down at Kagome, she had her eyes clamped shut, but he could tell she was fighting more tears. He looked back to Glacialis and nodded, "Make it quick."

Glacialis nodded and flexed his claws; he placed one hand on Kagome's knee to hold her leg still and, using just the claw on his index finger, made one slash across the top of the scab with lightning speed. Kagome cried out in pain and lurched forward, grasping Kouga's arm as tight as she could.

"We are not done yet, please hold her still." Kouga wrapped his other arm around Kagome, half meant to hold her still, half meant as a comforting embrace.

Glacialis placed a cloth under her leg to catch the puss running down it; he started squeezing the wound to coax the remainder of the puss out as well. Kagome whimpered slightly, biting her tongue from another scream, tears streaming freely down her cheeks now.

He finished draining all the puss out and produced the same small blue vial he had used yesterday from the pouch on his belt, he applied some of the salve sparingly to her wound and placed the vial back in his pouch; he then started to rewrap her leg in fresh bandages.

Kagome almost instantly calmed down as the pain ceased, she lifted he head from Kouga's shoulder and watched the Drakon finish wrapping her leg wound.

Glacialis cleaned up the mess and tossed the now contaminated cloth in the fire, it was then that he noticed Sango. The taijiya was propped on one elbow, holding her injured side, and glaring at him. He looked to the monk, he was fanning sleep as his hand inched ever closer to the taijiya's backside.

"HENTAI!" The slap echoed through out the entire cave, Glacialis grimaced and chuckled slightly as he walked back over to Kagome's bed.

Kagome had fallen asleep in Kouga's embrace, exhausted from the pain, but looking none the worse for ware now. Kouga looked at Glacialis with a slight scowl, "You still have some explaining to do, I want to know what your really here for, and I won't be brushed aside so easily." He said with a slight growl in his throat.

Glacialis chuckled slightly and shook his head, "Relentless and foolish, what a waste of talent." He muttered as he walked out of the cave.

Kouga gently laid Kagome down and followed the drakon out of the cave, stopping just outside, "I mean it, I will not allow you to stay if I don't hear something worth hearing." He glowered slightly as Glacialis stopped in his tracks and stared at the sky, seemingly ignoring him, again.

Just as Kouga was about to speak on this affront, Glacialis piped up. "I'm not really supposed to be telling you anything my mistress divulged to me," He sighed and turned to face Kouga. "But I can tell you this much, I was sent here to prevent a possible future from taking place, you will have to ask my mistress if you wish for any further clarification."

Kouga was a bit stunned, for the first time since he had met this annoying drakon, he neither smelled, nor sensed any deception. Kouga stood up straight, "Well, then that's where we shall go." He turned and walked back into the cave, leaving the Drakon outside.

"Oh, and by the way." The drakon's words halted Kouga in his tracks; that tone of voice... "You have a week before it kills her."

"WHAT?!" Kouga said – not shrieked. He was a tough guy and tough guys didn't shriek – as he whirled around to face the slightly amused-looking dragon. "A WEEK?!"

Glacialis waved his hand almost dismissingly, as if trying to diffuse Kouga's temper with the gesture. "Calm down, calm down," he muttered, and Kouga could have sworn he'd heard 'irritating whelp', but he couldn't be sure. "My mistress may just have the cure."

Kouga gritted his teeth, hands balling into fists at his sides. "Fine. We leave at first light."

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She turned her head slightly, a patient smile on her face as she saw him bowed at the edge of the light spilling in from her rooms. "Yes? What is it, dear general?" she asked, only somewhat curious.

He swallowed and took in a breath before speaking. "Ah... Mistress... The miko's group... It consists of a monk, a taijya, a kitsune and a few mangy wolves." He swallowed again, a little confusion seeping into his voice as he continued. "And... They seem to have been joined by... well, I'm not sure what he is, except..." His brow furrowed. He watched as her shadow shifted, either turning away or turning to face him.

"Except...?" she prodded, just a tinge more curiosity and pantient annoyance in her voice now.

"Ah... Well, he is a very strange looking fell- er, demon, Mistress. With almost bronze-colored wings across his back, and-"

"Wings?" she demanded, some strange emotion in her voice. "What sort of wings, general?"

He felt the urge to look up, but quelled it even as the barely healed scars on his cheek twitched. "Ah, lizard-like, I suppose. Perhaps like that of those pets you keep at the gates."

He didn't expect to get a face full of broken flower vase at that. It shattered upon impact and sent him sprawling backwards. "What, dear General Takashi, do you mean by that? How, in your _extreme_ loyalty and persistence to obey my desires, have you managed to let a _drakon_ slip through your notice?"

His vision cleared a little, having been a bit blurry, and he averted his instinctual gaze upon her to the relative safety of the shadows. "For- forgive me, Mistress," he coughed – why couldn't he see from his left eye? - as pain seared through his face. "It- It won't happen again."

She reached forward, hand fisting in his hair and apparently not caring that her claws raked across his skull. "I certainly hope not, boy," she snarled angrily, indicating the upper half of his face. "Or the next thing you lose won't be an eye." With that, she threw his head back against the wall and stormed inside, and he heard the distinct sound of shattering glass; more vases. Of course, her language was colorful enough to make even the Lord of the West blush. Maybe.

He sat up, barely registering some language he didn't understand – though her tone of voice made it quite clear that it probably wasn't polite – and held his eye, stumbling to his feet. He needed to find a way to guarentee his life, perhaps; make him invaluable, or he'd lose more than an eye.

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**A/N: Sorry it took so long; my brain collapsed and my muse jumped out the window- oh, and my beta keeps beating her head against the wall, which is why I need more wonderful reviews – not just fave/alerting people! - so that she won't jump out the window, too... That definitely would not be good...**

**Sorrow: But you're killin' me!!!! -wants to strangle someone- Damn, stubborn yankee...**

**Me: … Anyway... R&R and show me some love!!!**


	5. Chapter 4: Lost and Alone

**A/N: Sorry about any confusion my previous submission may have caused, I noticed some rather large holes in my story that would have been near impossible to fill, so I wrote a prologue to negate the inevitable. As an apology I'm throwing in a special treat for all you patient folks out there, straight from Nefra's hentai closet, enter fluffy.**

**Sesshoumaru: I really wish people would stop calling me that, it's undignified.**

**Me: But it's such a cute nick-name, **_**pouts.**_

**Sesshoumaru: **_**Glares at authoress, **_**has anyone ever told you that you're incorrigible?**

**Me: **_**nods and giggles,**_** and insatiable, enjoy the fic folks.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Chapter 4: Lost and Alone**

The two headed dragon entered the clearing near the hot spring one head sniffed the air around him, seemingly satisfied that there was no impending danger in the immediate area, the other head snorted at a bush behind him as he plopped on the ground and curled up to sleep.

At that moment Rin ran out of the bush, stark naked and jumped into the hot spring pool with a shriek of glee. The splash that followed ran over the side of the pool like a mini tidal wave and soaked Aun's heads. Aun shook his heads, and made what sounded like a grumbling sound, before moving back a bit further from the water to avoid any more splashing.

At that moment Jaken came stumbling out of the bushes carrying Rin's clothing, fuming slightly at the sight, "We are her to bath, not play, now hurry up or I'll…"

"Silence, Jaken!" Sesshoumaru commanded from behind him, there was an edge to his voice that made Jaken jump.

"Y-yes, Milord." Jaken managed to squeak out as he bowed towards the bushes.

Sesshoumaru was sitting behind a nearby tree, facing away from the hot spring, in an attempt to give his ward some semblance of privacy. He had his eyes closed and appeared to be deep in thought, his right arm draped leisurely over his right knee; he appeared to be completely relaxed; but was in fact scanning the area with all his senses, making sure there were no impending threats in the surrounding area.

Sesshoumaru was so absorbed in searching for large and threatening demonic auras, that he almost missed the smaller aura on the other side of the hot spring clearing. His eyes snapped open as he stood, he looked across the clearing and narrowed his eyes at a small bush near the base of a rather large tree; the aura was definitely demonic, but it was so small and weak that it barely registered as there. His sensitive ears picked up what would have otherwise been a barely audible gasp, as the demon behind the bush realized he had found it.

"Milord, what is it?" Jaken asked apprehensively when he noticed his lord standing.

As if on cue, the bush across the clearing shook slightly as the unknown demon fled in terror, "Jaken." Was all Sesshoumaru said before he ran after the small demon, knowing that Jaken would now protect Rin.

The demon was not using its demonic speed so he caught up in a matter of seconds, pinning its small form to a tree, feet dangling in the air. His eyes grew wider as he realized that it was a female, and a child at that. He released his hold on her and let her fall to the base of the tree; the child did not hide her demonic features like most full blood youkai, but he could tell from her sent that she was no hanyou. She did not try to flee again, but lowered her head, casting her silver eyes to the ground instead as he stood there inspecting her.

She had small spiral stubs, were razor sharp horns would be when she grew older. Faint spiral tribal markings, distinct to her clan, lined both her arms. She wore a simple pair of slacks and shirt that looked like they were stolen from a human's cloths line, and she was growing too big for them at that.

But what disturbed Sesshoumaru the most was the clan insignia barely visible behind the light blue hair on her forehead, 3 diagonal wavy lines with a forth horizontal line connecting the other 3, an ancient symbol for water. His eyes narrowed to slits as a familiar scent hit his sensitive nose, a scent he had not smelled in almost 50 years.

"Your name, what is it?" Sesshoumaru forced through clenched teeth.

"M-Mizu," the little girl managed to squeak out, "m-milord." She added after a moment's pause, her voice and body visibly trembling.

"What tribe?" He snapped, his fist clenched at his side.

She shuddered at his tone, "S-Suijou, m-milord." She gulped audibly.

He narrowed his eyes at her again, he was sure she was making it up to save her own skin, but he smelled no deceit on her. "Why were you spying at the hot spring?"

There was a pause as she thought how to carefully word her response; Sesshoumaru could see that she was also trying very hard, however unsuccessfully, to reign in her terror. He waited patently for her answer, using the time that passed to sooth his own anger.

It was several moments before she answered him, "W-we were trying to see who you were, no one has come up here in so long." Her voice was noticeably calmer, but she still trembled slightly. "We've been so alone for years now, no one but our self to talk to." She added the last sentence with a whisper.

Sesshoumaru could not help but notice when she referred to herself as 'we'; she had been alone a very long time if she was resorting to third person speech. "One last question." He waited a moment before speaking again, "I saw your entire clan slaughtered by the Taijiya's, not but 50 years ago, how did you alone survive?" He spoke this question very slowly, observing her. He noticed the slight flinch at his mention of 'Taijiya', but waited patiently for her response.

She was quiet again, this time her eyes took on an eerie, far off quality. When she finally spoke, it only served to send a chill down Sesshoumaru's spine, but he managed to hide it behind his ever present mask of indifference. "Has it really been 50 years?" Her voice was soft but firm, the trembling from before seemed to be completely gone now. She suddenly looked up and smiled at Sesshoumaru, the eerie look gone from her eyes, "I am afraid you are mistaken, milord. Our family is not dead; they have just gone for a short while to secure our borders from those pesky humans. They will be back soon, you shall see. Mother said so, when she left our egg in hiding, and mother always keeps her word to us."

Sesshoumaru raised a delicate eyebrow as she stood and bowed before him, "Are you or your traveling companions hungry, milord?" She asked as she straightened again, "Our mother's home is not far from here, and it is the least we can do to offer our hospitality; especially after all the help your father gave my parents when they took over leadership of our tribe, and then helped to organize the clans." She smiled and bowed again, waiting patiently for a response.

Sesshoumaru looked down on the young youkai, "Your parents, family and friends are all dead, and there is no escaping this fact." He showed no sorrow for his harsh words as he watched her and waited.

She just blinked and continued to smile at him, as if she had not heard what he said.

Sesshoumaru let his mask slip for a split second, as a frown appeared to mar his ever perfect features, but he quickly recovered his composure. "You hatched on your own, survived these 50 some odd years alone, despite the odds stacked against you, and you still manage to deny the very simple truth." Anger and irritation laced his voice now. "The fact is; your parents are dead and gone, they are not coming back, accept this as truth for it comes from my lips alone. You are right, my father had a truce with your tribe once, which I am honor bound to uphold. So ask yourself this, why would this Sesshoumaru lie to an ally, especially the sole remaining member and hair to a tribe thought long dead?"

A single tear escaped and ran down her cheek, but her smile never faltered. "It's ok; you do not have to join us if you do not want to, it is not required. We are tired, is it ok for us to go now?" He noticed that her smile did not reach her eyes, but neither did her extremely apparent sorrow, as he now noticed it exuded off her in small waves at any mention of her parents. So she knew the truth, she had just been denying it for so long that her mind would no longer let her see it as the truth; this disturbed him on some inner level he didn't even know existed.

She would have to be shown; maybe the sight of her parent's graves would shock her enough to jolt her mind back to reality and… Wait, why do I care about this youkai's sanity? Her tribe is long gone, and she is far from the age at which she can be of any assistance to me, on or off the battle field. He pondered this for a long moment before speaking again.

"Very well," Sesshoumaru said; she started to walk away, "Jaken, Rin, you can come out now."

There was an 'eep' from behind a nearby bush as Jaken stumbled forward, Rin followed suit with a big toothy grin, now fully clothed. "M-milord?" He bowed quite clumsily.

"Collect Aun, we have been invited to dinner." Sesshoumaru said as he started to follow the little girl.

"A-at once milord," Jaken stammered as he turned to race back towards the hot springs, only to run straight into one of Aun's front legs and fall backwards on his rear, Aun chuckled at the little toad youkai.

Rin giggled and followed her lord further up the mountain, humming and picking little flowers as she went along.

Sesshoumaru stopped dead as a chill went down his spine, it felt as if something immensely powerful had brushed the edge of his aura. He scanned the area with his eyes, as well as letting his demonic aura flair out a little, trying to find the source of this other power. He could see nothing, and all he could sense was a slight tingling at the edge of his aura again; it was like nothing he had ever felt before, it caused him to feel a sense of euphoria and foreboding at the same time, but it was quickly receding.

"My Lord?" Jaken quarried at the change in his aura.

"Silence," Sesshoumaru ordered. He closed his eyes and forced his aura out further, trying to catch a glimpse of this new aura, to hold onto this new sensation a little longer. He gave his aura one final hard push outwards and managed to clash right into the side of the other aura; it almost felt like hitting a brick wall, his legs wanted to give way, but he clenched his fist and forced himself to keep standing.

The other aura pushed back slightly, causing him to slide back a little on the ground, he reached out and grabbed a nearby tree trunk to steady himself. The other aura pushed again, harder this time, causing massive pain to shoot through his whole body. His face remained stoic, the only signs of his exertions were his excessive breathing and the fact that he had now dug his claws into the tree trunk, splintering the bark.

Sesshoumaru was concentrating all his will on pushing back against the strange aura, trying to gain more ground, when before his irises flashed a pair of sparkling green eyes, unlike anything he had seen before.

His eyes shot open as he could have sworn he heard a whisper accompany the mesmerizing eyes. He looked around his rag tag group, trying to find the source of the whisper; all were cowering, and visibly trembling, behind Aun in fear from the menacing feeling being put off by the two clashing auras.

Aun just stood there staring towards the strange aura, almost like he was in a trance.

The whispering still persisted in his sensitive ears, but he was unable to make any of it out, so he closed his eyes once more and tried to concentrate on what was being said. Suddenly a few words rang crystal clear in his ears, "...return the drakon..." But the rest was faint and incoherent, like the speaker was moving away.

Before he could do anything more, the aura disappeared completely, as if it had never been there at all. He opened his eyes and regained some of his composure, only to notice a very confused looking Aun, and the rest of his party still cowering behind the two-headed dragon.

Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly when he noticed the child had disappeared, he then turned and continued walking in the direction the child had gone. He looked over his shoulder at his group, "Come," he said, not waiting, but sensing them follow without question.

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The room was dark, the only source of light a circle of candles near the center. She sat in the center of this circle, all but engulfed in a deep trance, searching for something beyond what she could see and touch. The candle flames cast their glow about the room, as if trying to stave off the dark, keeping it at bay. The flickering of the light made her crimson locks quiver and dance, as they pooled on the floor behind her, almost alive; it gave her alabaster skin an almost ethereal glow. She was still as a statue, her breathing even and steady, her eyes closed to the world.

Across the room, barely visible in the steadily intensifying darkness, Flamma watched her intently, as if taking his eyes of her would cause her to disappear. His wings were draped around his shoulders to keep out the biting cold of the early spring morning; He did not move from his perch for several hours, not even when the moon dipped below the horizon and the pinkish-gold fingers of the morning sun caressed the landscape outside.

As the sun reached mid-day he was getting worried, he was about to move when the candles started to flicker violently. The woman's breath shuddered slightly as the flames separated from their wicks, rising into the air; they then began to swirl in a circle around her, getting faster by the second. The look on her face became worried, as if she were exerting some great effort on something.

Flamma unfolded his wings and shuffled back against the wall, not wanting to get caught in the cross fire, so to speak. She muttered something in a language he didn't understand; then the flames died and he saw her whole body shudder as her soul slammed back into her body.

The force with which her soul reentered her body caused her to start to fall backwards, Flamma pushed himself off the wall and caught her in less then a second. She looked up at him with sparkling green eyes, and said, "I found one!" Before her eyes closed again and she went lax in his arms. He lifted her in his arms bridal style, walked over to the lavish and large bed against the far wall, and laid her down gently.

As he removed his arms from around her, her eyes flew open and she reached out, grabbing his well toned biceps for dear life. He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward slightly, letting her bury her face into his equally toned and bare chest; growling low and soft as she did so, trying to reassure and calm her.

After a few moments he felt her aura calm, but she still clung to him with an almost iron grip. He shifted slightly, to get more comfortable, and pulled her into his lap. She seemed to relax slightly at this gesture, he heard her audibly sigh in content as she turned her head so her cheek was resting on his chest, eyes still closed.

He mentally chuckled and leaned back against one of the bed posts, not knowing how long he would be trapped like this, and wanting to be more comfortable till he was released from her hold. No sooner then he got comfortable, then her eyes shot open and she just about jumped off his lap, shooting to the middle of the bed.

She looked at him with a mixture of fear and apprehension in her eyes, "S-sorry," she stammered. "I forgot where I was for a moment, won't happen again." She gave him a smile and chuckled slightly, he couldn't help but notice that neither reached her eyes.

He smiled in return and made no move for her, despite what his inner beast was howling. "It's ok, las, no harm done." His thick Gallic accent sent audible shivers down her spine.

She was hiding something and feared him finding out, it had been this way since they had found her and her daughter on that cliff. Their story was believable, especially since they had seen the little girl transverse time more then he could count; but she was still holding something back, and he wasn't sure why. He could only guess it had something to do with the mating mark on her shoulder, it carried his scent, but he had never met her before that day on the cliff. But every time he tried to approach that subject, she would skirt around it like a fine tuned dance. The whole situation just down right confused him, and he hated being confused. He would get the truth out of her sooner or later, he was determined.

She watched as he studied her; she saw his gaze flicker, to the mating mark she hid on her shoulder, more then once. She knew he wanted to know about it, and why it smelled of him, but if she told him it might ruin her entire future. Kami, why did that damn soul sorceress,**Sielu, have to come back to this time line.**

**He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, fearing another of his probing questions. "I almost forgot, I found one last Japanese Drakon, I need to speak with my daughter immediately. Can you find her for me, please? And I'm kinda hungry too," Her stomach growled audibly and she blushed slightly. "How long was I meditating this time? I feel like I haven't eaten in ages."**

**He chuckled slightly and shook his head, damn she was beautiful when she blushed like that. "almost a whole day, I was starting to get worried when you finally came out of your trance."**

**He stood as he spoke; she followed him off the bed, only to have Flamma grab her wrists and pull her front flush with his chest again, wrapping his wings around her to prevent her escape. "I shall get your daughter, and some food, mostly because you asked so nicely." He purred into her ear as she tried to pull away from him, but found his hold more then firm. "One of these days it would be nice if you could answer some of my questions, instead of avoiding them."**

**She scowled slightly and looked him straight in the eyes, "Let go of me, now!" She demanded, a sharp tone in her voice. She saw his eyes glaze over instantly, and then his hold started to slack a bit. Just as she started to gently push his arms away, trying to wiggle out of his hold, he came back to his scenes. He snapped his arms and wings back around her, hearing her gasp, and her head snapped back up to look into a pair of very angry eyes, an orangish-yellow color starting to bleed into the corners.**

**He growled slightly and bared one fang, as he leaned his head forward, till it was level with her ear. "That was not nice, I have never done anything to deserve that. You are, by far, safer in my arms then not; I will always let you go at the asking, you should never fear that."**

**He brought one clawed finger up and moved her shirt off her shoulder enough to expose her mating mark; he bent lower and slowly, sensual licked it. A jolt of pure pleasure shot up her spine, she tried to bit back a moan, but all she could do was muffle it by burying her face in his chest.**

**He smirked and raised his head back to her ear, "I don't want to know everything, I just want to know about this mark; that is not to much for your mate to ask, now is it?" He could smell her arousal spike as she shook her head slightly against his chest, her whole body still shaking slightly.**

**He covered her mark back up and released her, she dropped to a seated position on the bed, refusing to look at him. "W-we'll talk after I speak with my daughter," She managed to squeak out.**

**Flamma nodded, "As you wish, Milady," He then turned and started to exit the room, but was stopped by her arms suddenly wrapping around him from behind, he could feel her shaking and smell the salt from her tears.**

**He turned around so he could face her, then wrapped his arms and wings back around her; she once again buried her face in his chest, this time she started to cry softly. "I'm sorry," she choked out, as she tried to hold back the tears. "I thought you wouldn't believe me, if I told the whole truth; and that would hurt my future, and our daughters existence."**

**Flamma leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, "Shh, it'll be alright love, I promise." He pulled back and used two fingers under her chin to gently force her to look up at him, he smiled down at her. "Give me one moment, then you can tell me all you have burdened yourself with, I promise to listen without judgment. OK?"**

**She nodded as he released her again, she wiped away the tears and sniffled slightly.**

**Flamma walked over and opened her bedroom door, he motioned to one of the sentinels just outside. "Go find her daughter and bring her here, also instruct one of the woman to have some food sent up." The sentinel nodded and walked off, as Flamma closed the door again.**

**He walked back over to her, "come then, Cliodna," He picked Cli up bridal style and carried her back over to the bed, sitting so he could lean comfortably against the head board, with her in his lap. "I think it's time you told me everything, whether you think I should know it or not."**

**"OK!" She said as she snuggled closer to him, he wrapped his wings around her and made an almost purr like noise to calm her down a bit more. She sighed and took a deep breath before beginning...**

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******A/N: Ha ha, cliff hanger. ****__****sticks tongue out.**

******That is as in depth as I'm getting about Cliodna in this story, I might tell a bit more about Rei-an, you'll just have to wait and see. But if you want an in depth back story on Cli and Rei-an, and what went on more with them in this story line, then you will have to wait till I'm done with this one.**

******I plan to write the '********Sorceress Chronicles'******** after this story, there might be brief mentions to some animes, but it will be all about Cliodna and the other sorceress' in her world.**

******If anyone has any pointers on where I should go from here, or things they would like to see happen, then drop me a line. My muse hates me, and my beta has pretty much given up on me, so I'm drawing a blank and might have to take a short break to get my grove back.**

******Thanks for all your support, keep it up, R&R, laters.**


	6. Chapter 5: Captured

**A/N: I've worked hard with my writers block and managed to write this chapter, sorry if it's a little shorter then normal. Without further ado, I present chapter 5. Any definitions for words in any language will be given in the 'A/N' at the end, this chapter will have both Japanese and Irish Gaelic in it. Also, anything in Gaelic will be ****underlined****, thank you.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Chapter 5: Captured**

Kouga's pack, as well as Glacialis, had all woke at first light; while they let the humans sleep a little longer, Kouga informed his pack what his plans were. Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku would travel with Glacialis, Kagome, Shippo, Miroku and Sango to get the cure for their future alpha female. The rest of the pack would take Inuyasha's body back to Kaede's village, for his burial, and wait there until he returned. After all the details were ironed out Kouga woke Kagome and her friends, they all then packed up camp, and left their separate ways.

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They had been walking through a rather dense forest for several hours, they had taken a brief brake for lunch and then continued on, in a northerly direction. Kagome had become tired shortly after lunch and was now riding on Kouga's back, she had quickly fallen asleep, with her head resting on his shoulder. Glacialis was leading the way, with Ginta and Hakkaku guarding their rear. Kirara was in full demonic form and carrying all the supplies, as well as a sleeping Shippo, while Sango and Miroku walked next to her.

As it began to near dusk when they came upon a rather large clearing, Kagome woke and began to look around groggily, that was when Sango spoke up. "We need to find a place to camp for the night, not all of us have the stamina of a demon."

Just as she said this the ground trembled slightly, Kagome got a very worried look on her face before speaking. "I sense a very strong aura ahead, but it keeps fluxing. One minute it's there, the next it's gone."

Glacialis just grunted slightly as he too felt the aura, "I think I know who it is, wait here, I'll check it out." With that he spread his wings and was high in the sky before anyone could blink, and just hovered for a moment, surveying the landscape before him.

Kagome climbed off Kouga's back, mouthing the word 'wow', both her and Sango stared up in wonder. They continued to watch as he folded his wings and dropped like a stone, towards the ground, feet first. Kagome went wide eyed and Sango gasped as he came within feet from the ground, crash landing imminent; but at the last second he unfurled his wings and stopped his descent enough to land with no sound or effort.

"Yep, it's who I thought it was," He sighed exasperatedly. "They are just over the next hill; they saw me while I was up there, so we shouldn't have any more issues." He grumbled something in another language and started walking towards the hill he had indicated earlier.

The rest of the group just exchanged glances, shrugged at one another, and followed him. As they crested the hill both Ginta and Hakkaku stopped dead, mouths hanging open. There, at the bottom of the hill, sat the little girl they had met a couple days ago by the spring.

She was wearing a traditional kimono in a dark purple color, with bamboo plants embroidered on the sleeves in silver, the obi was silver with dark purple bamboo leaves embroidered on it. Her dark chestnut brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail atop the back of her head, her eyes still sparkling as she gave them all the same patient smile as back at the stream.

Ginta and Hakkaku shook themselves out of it and hurried to catch up with their comrades, who had quickly left them behind. "Hey guys, wait up." Ginta yelled.

The little girl stood as they approached, a green winged drakon at her side. The new drakon said nothing, he simply bowed low at the waist as Glacialis approached; right hand in a fist over his heart, wings extended fully and lifted slightly over his head.

Glacialis walked up to them and nodded to the other drakon, he then turned his attention to the little girl and bowed slightly. "Dia Duit, Rei-an?"

"Kajitsu, Glacialis-Ojisan." She said as she bowed, "I am so glad we found you, Okaasan wishes me to deliver you a message of the utmost importance."

Kagome knew it was rude of her, but she couldn't help but stare at the little girl before her... was she glowing? There was also something off about her speech, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Found?" Glacialis quirked a brow at the little girl, "I really don't think that was a problem, you seem to have a knack for knowing when and where people will be. Now what does your Okaasan wish for me to know, Rei-an?"

Rei-an's smile got even bigger, if that was at all possible, "Okaasan found one and would like you to come with us to retrieve her!"

Glacialis' eyes grew wide, "But I thought..." His voice trailed off as he seemed to try and comprehend the message; finally he shook his head and spoke again. "Is she safe?"

Rei-an nodded quiet vigorously, "Yep, she's being guarded by the eldest son of her parents greatest ally. He's an Inu lord by the name of..." She stopped for a moment, seeming to think, "Drat, what did Okaasan say that name was?!" She huffed slightly and fidgeted as she tried to remember.

Kagome had been listening intently to the whole conversation and decided to help the little girl out, "Gomen, I don't mean to interrupt; but are you speaking of Sesshoumaru, the Inu lord of the West?" All heads turned towards Kagome and she smiled slightly as a small blush crept up to her cheeks.

"Hai, that's him, arigato." Rei-an bowed to Kagome as her big bright smile returned, "Have you met him before?"

Kagome chuckled nervously, "Hai, you could say that; he tried to kill me the first time we met." She muttered the last part, positive that her information really wasn't helping the situation any.

Glacialis groaned, "Great, that sounds like it'll be a wonderful encounter."

"He did help us out in the final battle against Naraku, Youbo." Shippo pipped in, "Maybe he's not all that bad anymore."

Glacialis looked back at Rei-an, "Can you take me there? We'll leave tonight so I can be back by first light, hopefully."

Rei-an nodded, "Yep, no problem."

He smiled at her then surveyed the area they were in, "This should be as good a place as any to set up camp, what do you think?" He glanced at Kouga and waited for his answer.

Kouga did a quick scan of the area for any malicious auras, once satisfied that there were non, he nodded to Glacialis. "Ginta, Hakkaku, go collect some wood for a fire while the rest of us set up camp."

once camp was set up, and a fire blazing to cook their dinner; Glacialis flew off with Rei-an tucked safely in his arms, the other drakon hot on his heels.

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As they set up camp, no one noticed the eyes watching them from high up in a tree near the edge of the forest. General Takashi had made sure he was down wind, the chain around his neck squashed his aura to almost nothing, his army waiting far enough away to avoid detection. He really couldn't believe how easy this was, he could have slit the ookami prince's throat and no one would have noticed; these people were really dense.

He had to bite back a laugh as he watched the two drakon fly away with the little girl; Kami must be smiling on him today, he just couldn't believe his luck, the only way this could get any easier would be if that fool of a girl decided to take a walk or something. He knew that wouldn't be happening though, he could smell the poison in her blood from where he sat, that cobra youkai had at least done one thing right. The poison would inhibit her miko powers some, and it would make his job that much easier.

As soon as the sun set he silently dropped from his tree top vigil and made for his troops; as he neared the perimeter of were his troops were camped, he noticed the sentinel passed out at the base of a tree, snoozing peacefully.

He started to growl low in his throat, but then stopped when a rather devious idea came to him. He had learned a new trick the last time he visited the monk in his old village, now was as good a time as any to try it out. He pulled a small black round object out of the pouch on his belt, it almost looked like one of those rolly polly beetles that curl into a ball when threatened; he whispered something to it and put it on the ground at his feet. Upon letting go off it, the small object immediately uncoiled itself; it was a black Japanese scorpion. It then crawled across the ground and up onto the shoulder of the sleeping solder, it hissed and clicked slightly.

The solder woke abruptly to the noise in his ear, slowly turning his head to stare straight at the scorpion, the fear evident in his eyes. He did not speak or move, for fear of provoking it to strike, then he saw General Takashi standing off to his left. The general walked over and squatted near the solder's feet, "I know your new, so let me explain how things work, and listen well for I shall only say this once. This is the only warning your getting, and you wouldn't even get this one if I didn't need all my men right now." Takashi then held out his hand and let the scorpion walk back into it, watching as it curled back into a ball, he then put it back in his pouch, standing as he did so. "Fall asleep while on duty again, I'll let it kill you; do I make my self clear?"

The solder scrambled to his feet and bowed, "C-crystal, General." He stammered out, fear still lacing his voice.

Takashi walked into camp and rounded up his men, and the 50 bat youkai Sielu sent with him. Once all were present and paying attention, he voiced his plan. "We have 3 Ookami, a Monk, a female Taijiya, a Miko, a young Kitsune and a fire Neko to deal with. The Miko must be captured alive, and the jewel she carries, the Sorceress cares not what happens to the others. The Miko is weakened right now, but her friends are all highly trained, do not take them for granted."

He waited a moment to make sure his words had sunk in, then continued. "Now then, we are going to attempt a stealth raid, in a sense. I will take half the men around the clearing, the other half will stay on this side with Captain Kuroshiro, I wish to surround them. Once that has been accomplished, the Bat youkai will take to the sky and come at them from above, can you handle that?"

He stared straight at the leader of the bat youkai, who chuckled evilly and nodded.

Takashi waited in silence; for what, no one was really sure, but all knew better then to interrupt him. After a few moments of looking his men over, he spoke again. "let me reiterate, just to be sure all are clear on this; the girl is not to be harmed. I will personally deal with anyone who so much as allows a scratch to appear on her, got it." All though it was more of a statement then a question, all the solders nodded once. "Good, then lets be on our way."

He separated his troops in half, then quickly left with his half for the other side of the clearing.

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Kagome awoke abruptly, a shiver of foreboding running down her spine. She scanned the camp site to see if she could spot the problem, but all she saw was a dying fire and all her friends sleeping soundly. She had been nestled snugly in Kouga's lap, she turned to look at his sleeping face, nestling her head back on his shoulder. Kami, he was rather handsome up close, why had she never realized it before?

She couldn't help but be drawn to him, she always had been, but Inuyasha had always got in the way. She wished she could have him right here and now, but she would be to shy with all her friends nearby, and... Wait, what was she thinking, this was so not like her. She shook her head slightly, then just contented herself with watching him sleep for a while.

Kouga had woken when she first stirred, he had smelled fear on her, like when you first wake from a bad dream. He feigned sleep, waiting to see what she would do, and gave a mental sigh of relief when she laid her head back down. He could feel her eyes on him, but fought the smirk that wanted to appear on his face; then she shook her head slightly and he smelled it, she was aroused.

He couldn't help but smirk at this, he heard her gasp and slowly opened his eyes a bit, looking down at her. "You are making it rather difficult to sleep, Koi." His smile got bigger as he saw her blush, he cupped her check with his hand.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep." She responded quietly, blushing even more, while placing her hand over his.

Kouga chuckled slightly; he then leaned over and nuzzled her neck, making a slight purring noise, he felt her almost melt in his lap. He inhaled deeply and noticed a tangy smell to her arousal, he mentally cursed and was unable to hold back the groan, she was in heat. He lifted his head and rested his forehead against hers, looking her in the eyes, those deep blue eyes that had succeeded in trapping his soul so many years ago and they were now glazed over with a lust that mirrored his own.

Just as he was about to kiss her, the wind shifted. His sensitive demon nose was assaulted by the stench of human solders, and bat demons; he looked around and scanned the area, but sensed no aura's. The smells were coming from all around them, they were surrounded, "Kuso!" He snarled, mad at his own carelessness.

Kagome became worried at his sudden change in expression; he gently shifted her off his lap and stood, flexing his claws. "What's wrong Kouga?" but she didn't have to wait long for an answer.

The sky suddenly grew dark, and when they both looked up, they saw an entire contingent of bat youkai take to the sky's. Kouga growled low in his throat and spun around, intent on waking the rest of the camp. Before he could do so, the lead bat youkai let off a high pitched war cry like screech.

The assault on his sensitive ears caused Kouga to drop to his knees with a roar of pain, clasping his now bleeding ears. The other 4 demons in camp sat bolt upright with roars of their own, Shippo crying, all holding their equally bleeding ears. The 2 remaining humans woke with this commotion, looking to the sky as the screeching stopped.

"Shippo!" Kagome cried, as she saw the blood run down the side of his face, and the tears running down his cheeks. She turned to snatch up her bow and arrows, only to see the solders now surrounding their camp, all with swords drawn. She gasped and stepped back, she was cut off from her only means of self defense.

Kouga had a ringing in his ears, they throbbed from the sudden onslaught of sub-sonic sound that had also accompanied that war cry, but he could still smell when Kagome's scent suddenly spiked with fear. He turned his head and growled at the sight of the men now surrounding them, he forced himself to his feet, albeit wobbly. He then lunged at the line of solders closest to Kagome, snarling, with claws at the ready.

He never mad it to the human scum though, when he was only feet from them, he was suddenly set on from above by no less then 6 bat youkai. He managed to dispatch two of them, before the rest had him pinned to the ground face first, claws digging into his wrists and ankles. One of them sat atop him, pinning him at his neck, making it impossible to move any part of his body.

Kagome looked around and realized she was the only one left standing, even poor Shippo was pinned by one of the solders, pushing his foot to the kitsune's chest. She spun back around at the sound of a deep evil chuckle, only to come face to face with a black armored samurai, katana leisurely resting point up on his shoulder.

Behind her, she vaguely heard the furious sound of Kouga's struggling to free himself. However, she could no more turn away from the man's gaze before her as she would have been able to had she been faced with Sesshomaru. He grinned.

"You'll be coming with us, miko-sama," he said mockingly, single eye watching her unblinkingly. "Or we'll kill your kit." To her left, the human holding down Shippo shifted his foot and pressed enough weight on the child to force a pained cry from his throat. "Understand?"

One of the demons holding Kouga cried out, but was quickly replaced by two more. Kagome swallowed, looking at Shippo. Her shoulders slumped, and she knew there was only one choice for her to make. "Okay," she whispered, biting her lip to hold back the tears. "Don't hurt him. Please."

The samurai bowed regally, but the smirk on his face told her it was mocking. "Of course," he agreed, one hand idly reaching up to scratch under the edge of a smooth brown eye-patch, revealing the edge of a horrible scar. "After the lady," he added, motioning for her to precede him toward a particularly large, black bat. As they walked away, she could feel Kouga's eyes on her back.

Maybe Kouga would be happy to know that later, she would cry.

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**A/N: Wow, that took longer then I thought. C**_**ringes at the time spent on this chapter.**_** Please R&R, thank you. **_**Bows.**_

**My little sister helped with the ending, she wrote the last 5 paragraphs, because my loner muse committed seppuku and I couldn't figure out how to end it. **_**Grins sheepishly and chuckles nervously.**_

**Also, this chapter is edited for content, due mostly to a lime. I was not sure what all FFN allowed, so I just removed the lime completely and adjusted the other paragraphs to match. If you would like to read the unedited version, here are the links; just replace the word [dot] with an actual dot.**

**MM = http://www[dot]mediaminer[dot]org/user_info[dot]php/173649 – for unedited and un-betaed.**

**AFFN = http://inu[dot]adultfanfiction[dot]net/authors[dot]php?no=1296877373 – for unedited and betaed.**

**Any who, I have a new beta now, so things should go a little smoother. Here are the definitions I promised.**

**Dia Duit**** = A formal way of saying 'Hello' or 'How do you do' in Gaelic. It can also be said as: ****go mbeannaí Dia duit**** = Pleased to meet you!**


	7. Chapter 6: Confessions

**A/N: Yay, time for the next chapter, we're going to skip to Fluffy, cause you can never have too much fluffy time, lol.**

**Again, all Irish Gaelic will be ****underlined**** and translated at the end, thank you.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Chapter 6: Confessions**

It had been a couple days since the episode at the hot spring. Sesshoumaru had managed to convince the young female drakon to wear a traveling kimono, and managed to get her to accompany them to his castle. The why, he was still not sure of his reasoning. He had not felt the strange aura since that day either, which was perfectly all right with him. Anyone who could catch him off guard like that did not sit right with him. He would not let it happen again. He would find this creature, be she human or demon, and make her see who was superior.

Sesshoumaru's attention then wandered to Mizu who was paler than normal. She was now staring off into the foliage with a distant look in her eyes as she leaned against Aun. He mentally cursed himself that if he had just paid more attention to his father's dealings with her parents. Or had he paid more attention when his father tried to school him in their culture. He might know what was wrong with her now and be able to help.

His musings were interrupted by a low grumble from across the campsite. He snapped his attention towards Rin, she giggled nervously and blushed. "Sorry my lord, I forgot to eat again."

She then promptly jumped up, non to gracefully, and skipped over to Aun. She rummaged through one of his saddle bags before pulling out a small melon. Then using the small knife Sesshoumaru had given her for her eleventh summer, she cut the melon into small pieces. She then held one of the pieces out to Mizu "Would you like some?"

Mizu's eyes shifted to the fruit Rin offered her, then to Rin's face, "No thank you, fruit doesn't agree with us." She then went back to staring off into the foliage. The same distant look returning to her eyes.

Rin looked a bit crest fallen, but soon shook it off and started eating her melon. Sesshoumaru stared at Mizu; there was something defiantly wrong with her. He'd be damned if he was going to be left in the dark. "Mizu?"

She shifted her unblinking gaze again, this time to the demon lord's stoic face. She still had a glazed over look to her eyes as if she wasn't really seeing him, even though she was looking straight into his golden eyes. She stared at him for a few moments, waiting, before giving up and turning her gaze back to the foliage for a third time.

Suddenly Sesshoumaru felt three aura's to his left, from what seemed like the air, coming closer. After a few moments, they had landed and stood a respectable distance away, almost as if they had been looking for him. Sesshoumaru mentally sighed and stood, "Jaken!"

Jaken eeped and bowed as Sesshoumaru left their camp site. He too had sensed the auras, but he was not expecting this from his lord. He stayed behind to watch the camp, as he knew his lord wanted him too.

Sesshoumaru walked out a ways to meet the intruders, all though his face never showed it, he was shocked to see two male demons and a female child... was she glowing? Her aura seemed to radiate off of her, and was strong for a child of her obvious age. Although she looked entirely human, he could smell the stench of a hanyou. He mentally shook himself and turned his attention to the strongest aura, the obvious leader of the group. Whose surface power almost seemed to match his own. Both males seemed to be wearing what looked like leather cloaks; but it didn't take him long to recognize them as wings. Wrapped delicately around their shoulders, leaving little of their bodies to view.

"Speak!" The single word dripped from Sesshoumaru's mouth in an elegant manner, but it was laced with his obvious distrust for the beings in front of him.

"Greetings my lord," while the other two bowed low, the leader made a smaller bow of his head, showing his regal breading. "I am Glacialis; Prince of the Celtic Drakon tribe in Northern Ireland. This here is my niece, Rei-an," he motioned to the young child, who simply smiled at the Inu lord. "And this is Talamh, her body guard," he motioned to the drakon stranding behind them, who bowed again to the Inu lord.

Sesshoumaru studied all three with close scrutiny. His majestic features never wavering as he patiently waited for the winged drakon to continue. Something about the girl set him on edge as his eyes lingered on her, she was not normal, but he couldn't put his finger on how.

Glacialis broke the silence, "We have come to make a small but important request of you, my lord. It is concerning the young female drakon you have in your care. She must be returned, before it's too late."

Sesshoumaru's gaze snapped back to Glacialis, a delicate eye brow lifting in a quizzically silent inquiry.

Glad that he now had the lord's attention, he continued. "She's not well, is she? I can feel her aura fluxing from here. She's already entered the change."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. He was not sure where this was going, but he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like it. "Explain!"

Glacialis did not let the tone in his voice escape his notice, "She is suffering from what our people call..." He paused, seeming to be searching for the right word. "fola dÚsachtach! It comes to all our kind when they reach a certain age. She has managed to forestall it longer than any I've know, though I'm not sure how."

Sesshoumaru pondered over this new information. Although he was not sure what fola dÚsachtach meant, he was sure it did not bode well for Mizu. He needed clarification though, and he was determined to get some before letting these three anywhere near his newest charge, "And this means what, exactly?"

Glacialis sighed, he hated having to betray clan secrets, but it was evident that this was a necessity in this case. "It means she needs to come with us, to perform the ritual, or she will become wild and savage." He hated also having to be so blunt, but he was sure Sesshoumaru would accept nothing less.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed dangerously, he was getting tired of this game, and he hated to repeat himself. "Explain!" His voice dripped with his obvious irritation, and was laced with a patient annoyance.

Rei-an flinched slightly, but Glacialis did not waver, he only looked at the Inu lord with an impassive expression. "It is a bonding ritual, meant to insure the survival of our race, and the dragons from which we descended. During this ritual, she must choose a hatchling as a dragon companion, and they must bond by drinking each other's blood. It can sometimes be postponed for a lunar cycle, if she was to go on a steady diet of blood, but without knowing exactly when her symptoms started, I would rather not take that chance."

Sesshoumaru's face retained his normal stoic features once again, as he pondered over these new and dangerous facts. "How long?" He finally asked as he met the drakon's gaze once again.

"Till the next new moon," Glacialis stated without hesitation.

He searched the faces of all three, the little girl still having that sickly sweet smile plastered on hers, before finally speaking again. "Very well," he decided. "But the final choice will be hers, I will not..." Before he could finish speaking though, an ear piercing scream echoed through the forest, from the direction of his camp. "Rin."

He sped off for the camp site at top speed, noticing that Glacialis was right behind him, and matching his speed with no effort. They both reached camp in a matter of seconds, and the site that met them almost made Sesshoumaru's eyes bleed red.

Standing in an offensive stance, the whites of her eyes glowing a deep blue, Mizu was staring down Jaken, whose staff was at the ready. Aun was standing behind him guarding Rin, who was curled on the ground in the fetal position, cradling her badly bleeding arm and crying. Blood was dripping from Mizu's extended claws, the same glazed over look from before still clouding her eyes.

"B-back you foul b-beast, I'm w-warning you." Jaken stammered, pointing his staff at the girl. Mizu simply let out a menacing lizard like hiss through clenched fangs. Taking a step forward as she did so, causing Jaken to take a step back.

Glacialis then stepped forward, "Enough, young one, stand down!" The command in his voice was bluntly obvious, but did no more than cause Mizu to turn and hiss at him instead, taking a threatening step towards him.

At that moment the other drakon arrived carrying the little girl. Sesshoumaru heard her whisper something to her bodyguard, in their strange language, as he set her down. Talamh looked to Glacialis, who grunted his agreement, then turned to face Mizu. Talamh's green wings unfurled from around his shoulders and began to shimmer slightly, his aura spiked and he slammed his hand into the ground, clawed fingers first, as if it was nothing more than water.

Mizu hissed at him, but was too late to do anything more, as four rock solid walls sprang up around her in a tipi formation, leaving a small hole at the top for air. Mizu let off a furious roar, which echoed off the trees, trying in vain to break through the walls.

Rei-an turned to face Glacialis, "I will have to bring Okaasan here; she will listen to no one else at this point."

Glacialis nodded, "Fine, I need to be getting back to my charges, leave Talamh here." He then turned to Sesshoumaru, "Do you have any issues with this?"

Sesshoumaru glanced between the three again, then on his companions, his eyes lingering on Rin's bloody arm. "None."

Glacialis turned to Rei-an, "Then be quick about it," He then shot up into the sky, almost faster than Sesshoumaru could follow with his eyes, before flying off to the east.

Sesshoumaru turned his attention back to the little girl when he heard his name. She was speaking in her language to Talamh, who then nodded and sat near the rock cage he had created.

She looked back to Sesshoumaru with a smile, "Talamh does not speak, or understand much Japanese, but he should still cause no issues. I shall be back just as soon as I can, please do not release her." Rei-an pleaded.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Very well."

He then watched as she clasped her hands together. Then closing her eyes she began chanting in an odd language that sent chills down his spin. There was suddenly a bright flash of light that caused him to close his eyes. When the light disappeared, he opened his eyes again and the little girl was nowhere in sight. He grunted and turned towards Rin to inspect her wound. Crouched down in front of Rin, Sesshoumaru held out his hand palm up, waiting patiently.

Rin whimpered slightly and stretched her still bleeding arm out to her lord. Wincing immensely as his nimble fingers wrapped around her slender wrist. She successfully managing to hold back the sob that seemed lodged in her throat, but not the tears that streamed freely down her face.

As Sesshoumaru examined her arm, he noticed that the wound was not as deep as it had seemed by first glance, and the bleeding had slowed appreciably. Jaken had brought him a damp cloth by this point, and he started to wipe the wound clean.

Rin tried not to move as he cleaned the wound, but it hurt so badly. She could not help but flinch whenever he touched it, and started crying quietly again, closing her eyes tightly to block out the sight.

From across the camp site, Talamh spoke something in his odd language, "Tá mé rud éigin a éascaíocht a pian, más mian leat é, a Thiarna Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru stopped what he was doing and looked at the drakon, eyebrow raised.

Talamh sighed slightly and stood, reaching into a pouch on his belt, and pulled out a small blue glass vial. He held it out to Sesshoumaru and spoke again, this time in broken Japanese, "Here, no pain, fast."

Sesshoumaru looked between him and the glass vial skeptically, then back at Rin's face. He could see and smell the tears still leaking from her eyes as she looked at the drakon, he mentally sighed and looked back to Talamh. "Very well," he nodded.

Talamh nodded, walked over, and knelt next to Rin. He removed the cap from the blue vial, immediately even Rin's weak human nose was assaulted by a very pungent odor.

Sesshoumaru immediately jumped up and away from the smell, resisting the urge to cover his sensitive nose. "What is in that?" He demanded, eying the drakon wearily.

Talamh furrowed his brow in thought, "Plant no growing here, it..." He sighed in frustration, he was not used to being unable to communicate. His brow furrowed further as he thought his words out carefully, "Smell bad, Hai. Work fast, Hai. No pain, make go away." He looked between Sesshoumaru and Rin, waiting to see if they understood.

Sesshoumaru looked down at Rin and nodded, "It is your choice, do as you will." He moved slightly as he said this, making sure he was upwind from the offending odor.

Rin looked at the blue vial, worrying her lip slightly. As if in response to her dilemma, he arm throbbed slightly and she whimpered. "Okay," she nodded and held her arm out to Talamh.

Talamh smiled sweetly at her and gently grasped her wrist, making sure not to cause and further pain. He placed the vial on the ground between them and scooped out a small amount of yellowish gel, "No move, might itch..." He paused, realizing he had said the wrong word, he sighed again and looked apologetically at Rin.

Rin, forgetting her pain for a moment, clasp her other hand over her mouth and tried to stifle her laughter. She managed to hold it back enough to remove her hand, grinning at the drakon she offered, "You mean sting? It might sting?"

Talamh looked rather elated at this as he smiled back at her, "Hai, it... might... sting." He repeated each word carefully, sounding out the syllables, seemingly committing them to memory.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, he was rather impressed, the drakon seemed to be a fast learner.

Talamh proceeded to gently apply the gel to Rin's wound, noticing that she only flinched once or twice. When he had finished, he pulled a small cloth from his pouch and wiped the remaining gel from his fingers, then wrapped the same cloth around her arm to cover the wound. "Ansiúd," He stated as he finished. He recapped the blue vial and placed it back in his pouch, then he smiled and stood.

Sesshoumaru crouched down next to Rin again to inspect her arm, noting also that the smell of the strange gel had somewhat dissipated. He nodded his approval, "You should get some rest now, Rin."

It was more of a command then a suggestion, but Rin nodded anyway. She turned to thank Talamh, only to find he had returned to his previous place and looked to be asleep. Still she whispered, "Arigato, Talamh-sama." She thought she saw the hint of a smile, but dismissed it. She then curled up between Aun's front legs, hugging close to him as he wrapped one head around her like a blanket, both sets of eyes never leaving the rock cage that held the now silent Mizu.

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Glacialis flew back towards where he had left Kagome and the others, as fast as his wings would carry him; he had an ominous feeling that just would not go away. He flew at top speed for about an hour, like a rocket across the sky, before coming to a cold stop only about a mile from their camp.

He sensed about a dozen strange demonic auras coming from camp, but nowhere could he sense Kagome's aura, only that of her friends. Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku and Kirara's auras were weaker than normal, probably unconscious. The two human's and the kitsune were in such a state of fear, he could smell it from here.

His eyes began to glow a bright ice blue as he realized what happened, "That Bitch!" He suddenly shot off towards camp again, faster than before, now that he was fueled by his rage. As he took off, he let out a tremendous roar that seemed to reverberate and echo in the air around him, his aura creating instant icicles on the nearby tree branches.

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**A/N: OK, as promised, here are the translations.**

**fola dÚsachtach = blood insane**

**Tá mé rud éigin a éascaíocht a pian, más mian leat é, a Thiarna Sesshoumaru? = I have something to ease her pain, if you want it, Lord Sesshoumaru?**

**Sorry this took so long, I had issues keeping Sesshoumaru in character again, hehe. I hope you enjoy it anyway, I will try and get chapter 7 out sooner, R&R.**


	8. Chapter 7: Icy Death

**A/N: A particular issue has been brought to my attention, so I wish to inform you all that I am basing this story on the manga, not the anime. Sorry this chapter is later than normal, I had some issues with the fight scene, and life kept getting in the way. Expect something similar for chapter 8.**

**And now, the conclusion…**

**Never forget, all Irish Gaelic will be ****underlined**** and translated at the end, thank you.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never will, that should be enough for y'all.**

**Soulless Knight**

**Chapter 7: Icy Death**

General Takashi had left behind twelve bat youkai to dispatch with the miko's friends; he really didn't care how it got done, as long as they were not able to follow. They had already knocked Kouga and his companion's unconscious, leaving only the two humans and the kitsune.

The boss smirked evilly as a rather devious thought struck him, he than nodded to the men closest to the humans. One bat walked over and tore the taijiya from the monk's arms, while two more bats held the monk and kitsune back. "Let go of her, demon." Miroku yelled, struggling against his captor.

Sango tried to fight back against the bat that was dragging her, but it was no good, he was too strong. When they reached his boss, he wiped her around in front of him so she was facing his boss, and held her hands behind her back with an iron grip.

Almost as soon as she had arrived in front of him he had reached out, with lightning speed, and grabbed a fistful of hair. He roughly yanked, causing Sango to have to tilt her head back and slightly to one side, exposing her throat. He then leaned forward and inhaled deeply, traveling from the nape of her neck on up to her ear, letting out a low possessive growl as he did so.

Sango growled softly in warning, but he ignored it. He chose instead to trail his free hand up her arm, almost covetously. As his hand traveled past her elbow, he let his thumb brush her breast.

Sango gasped and tried to pull away, but the effort was in vain for she was held steadfast by the iron grip on her wrists and in her hair. The demon grinned, opening his mouth-

"So, you gutless cowards are fond of picking on defenseless women, are you?" a voice growled, as the bat was yanked away from Sango. There was a gasp from behind her as the other bat released her hands, leaving her completely unrestrained.

She spun, watching in shock as Glacialis lifted the bat into the air by the throat, eyes glowing with fury. Lengthened claws were tearing into the exposed, fragile flesh while the drakon's free hand lifted. He flexed his claws, and then plunged them into the bat's chest. "So be it," he snarled, jerking out a lung.

The bat coughed blood, the liquid spattering across Glacialis' face and throat. Glacialis plunged his hand in again, ripping away the other lung before he dropped the demon and spat on him, shaking with his fury. "Hear this; I will kill any who harm those under my protection. You won't like it."

Sango shook slightly as she stared at the beast before her; he was no longer the kind and gentle demon she had gotten to know over the last couple of days. The Aura that flared around him was causing a chill in the air and icicles on the tree branches nearby, but that's not what made her shake. His eyes were glowing such a brilliant blue that you could no longer see the irises. His wings shimmered brightly, like the many facets of a gem. His teeth and claws were elongated beyond what she thought possible.

Glacialis turned his gaze from the dying bat, to the ones holding Miroku and Shippo. As if coming out of a stupor, all the remaining bats took defensive positions around their remaining captives.

"Hn, looks like you all wish to learn your lessons the hard way." Glacialis gave a feral grin and chuckled deep in his throat. "Very well, I shall oblige."Sango gasped as she saw his aura flair wildly, the chill in the air intensifying to almost sub-zero levels. She was unable to reach Miroku, so she dashed to the other side of the clearing where Kouga and his companions lay unconscious. She shook Hakkaku and Ginta awake, "Hurry, we've got to go, fast."

She reached Kouga as he started to sit up, "What the fuck is going on, why the hell is it so cold." He looked around and caught sight of Glacialis, he scowled. "Bout time that coward showed back up," He stood on wobbly legs, managing to ignore the knots in his stomach.

"Do something Kouga," Sango pleaded. "He's gone into a rage. He's going to get himself killed, there are too many of them."

Kouga's scowl deepened, "What the fuck do I care. If he had been here, Kagome might not have been kidnapped. I say let the fucker get his ass handed to him, I'm tired of his 'mightier than thou' attitude." He crossed his arms and stood watching, waiting.

"No!" Sango snapped at him, causing Kouga to flinch slightly, but his gaze on Glacialis did not falter. "It won't happen like that, just look at him."

Ginta and Hakkaku were standing just behind her, Ginta spoke up first. "What do you mean?"

Sango turned and looked at them; they could see the worry in her eyes. "He's in a fury; his beast is clawing to get out. Can't you see it?" She turned back to look at Glacialis, "If he starts to loose in this state, his beast will break its chains. He will transform. And if he does win, his beast will go after us next. It doesn't know friend from foe, it will kill until there is nothing left to be conceived as a threat."

Hakkaku looked between Glacialis and Sango, "How do you know all this, Taijiya? There haven't been Drakon in these lands since before my birth."

Sango sighed, "Because, it was the Taijiya who wiped them out." She bowed her head and averted her gaze. "There were considered a threat, even the ones who could rein in their beast. My Grandfather was part of the original extermination squad; he told us all the stories. The only beings that could ever best them were the Inu and the Kurohyou tribes. It was decided that the risk to human lives far outweighed the luck dragons were rumored to bring. So they were hunted like a common beast; one by one, until none were left."

"It won't come to that," Kouga said. Sango looked up to see him looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'll stop him before he harms an innocent; it's what Kagome would have wanted."

Sango nodded, "Miroku and Shippo are being held captive still, and we need to get to them before he slips completely."

Kouga nodded and turned his attention back to Glacialis, "I shall take care of that; as soon as there is a break in the bats defense, I shall run in and grab them both."

Sango let out a sigh of relief, "Arigato, Kouga-sama."

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Shippo clung to Miroku, he couldn't stop shaking. He watched as Sango was dragged away, and then tried to hide his face when he saw what the bat was going to do. He was snapped out of it by a terrifyingly strong aura suddenly appeared, he then watched in horror as Glacialis tore the bats lungs out. He admitted that he had only know the Drakon for a couple of days, but he never struck Shippo as a malicious or blood thirsty monster. But that was now what he was seeing, and it scared him beyond words.

Glacialis flexed his claws as the bats closed in on him, circling him like vultures. They seemed to forget all about Miroku and Shippo. Shippo was barely able to keep a yelp from escaping his lips, as he and Miroku were engulfed in a whirlwind and swept to were the rest of their party was waiting.

"Oomph," Shippo looked up to see Kouga, as he was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. "Arigato, Kouga-sama." He rubbed his butt where it had hit the ground.

"Hn," Was Kouga's answer, as he turned back to watch the ensuing battle.

Miroku was almost toppled over by Sango, "Thank Kami your both safe."

He coughed and took a deep breath to replace the air she had just knocked out of him, "I am fine, and would someone like to please clue me in on what's going on with Glacialis?"

Sango filled him in, he sighed. He stood and grabbed up his staff, walking to stand next to Kouga. They nodded at each other, but continued to do nothing more then watch the battle.

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The battle took off at a furious pace, making it hard for the human spectators to keep up. First three bats tried to attack alone; he ripped each one to shreds without batting a wing. The first bat lost both his arms and his wings; after his spine was broken Glacialis just left him to writhe on the ground in pain. The second got both his legs broke and trench sized gashes across his front, before his heart was ripped out to end his life. By the third bat, Glacialis had gotten bored with inventing new means of pain. He just ripped his throat and heart out, and then reached behind him to rip the heart from the paralyzed bat he fought first.

The eight remaining bats got smarter; they realized they could not take him out one by one. They circled as one, before leaping into the air and all attacking at once. Glacialis was not prepared for this; without thinking though, he leapt into the air to meet them all head on. He was thrown back to the ground, the wind knocked out of him, they now had the advantage.

The bats scattered and came at him from all directions, never letting him regain his footing. Swooping diving and batting at his as if they were a pack of regular bats protecting their cave. If he did manage to stand, it was only for a second before being thrown into a tree or on the ground again. I looked hopeless; there was no visible flaw in the bats tactics.

Then it happened, the moment Sango had feared. As Glacialis looked about ready to collapse, his aura spiked slightly. He was on his hands and knees panting heavily, blood dripping from just about everywhere. The spike in his aura happened again, almost like a thrum or heart beat… wing beats. A couple of the bats back a couple steps away, but one was foolish enough to walk up and try to kick him.

His foot happened to make contact with Glacialis's gut at the same time as his aura spiked the third time; he became a frozen block of ice. Glacialis leaned his head back and let loose a deafening roar, as if in pain and anger combined. The resonance of which seemed to vibrate the very air around him. The vibrations became uncomfortable, then painful. As they started to make the very air around him accelerate, glow, engulfing his whole body in a blinding light.

All the bats fell back this time, fear etched in their faces. As soon as the light faded away, there stood a beast like none had ever seen in these lands before.

Glacialis's beast surveyed the area with his huge faceted eyes; they whirled with various hues of red, like a never ending inferno. The beast was massive in size; at least 30 feet long, or longer. His body was comprised of millions of bright red scales, each the size of three dinner plates put together. On top of the beast's head were two spiraling horns, they looked to be made of diamonds, and were razor sharp. His foot and a half long claws looked to be the same, with four claws to a foot; his mouth was full of razor sharp teeth of the same as well. The coloring is his scales reflected in his crystalline claws, teeth and horns, making them look as if they were on fire, the flames dancing as he moved. A set of massive wings were folded upon the beast's back; they reached from the base of his tail, to the base of his skull, tipped with more of the same deadly crystal like talons. His large tail had four spikes, two on each side.

His aura seemed to pool around him, enveloping the area with terror and dread. Kouga turned his head to look at Sango in shock, only to find her already in her Taijiya outfit and Hiraikotsu at the ready.

"I can't believe it…" He heard Ginta say behind him, followed by Hakkaku saying in unison. "It's been him all along."

Everyone spun around to see both wolves staring at Glacialis, mouths hanging open. "What the fuck are you two talking about?" Kouga spat, crossing his arms.

Ginta and Hakkaku looked at one another sheepishly, "Um… You see…" Ginta started.

"We've met him before." Hakkaku blurted out.

Kouga sighed in frustration, "That's not news; we've all met him before."

Miroku placed a hand on Kouga's shoulder, "I don't think that's what they meant, Kouga-sama."

Ginta and Hakkaku glanced at the ground, "We've seen him in this form before." They muttered at the same time.

"WHAT!" Kouga bellowed, "WHY AM I JUST NOW HEARING ABOUT THIS?

Ginta and Hakkaku slinked back slightly, "Back at the cave…" Ginta stammered out.

"When we went to get water…" Hakkaku added.

"That l-little girl from earlier and G-Glacialis in this form were there…" Ginta stuttered.

"We didn't know it was Glacialis though," Hakkaku blurted out.

"No harm was done; we didn't see a point in mentioning it back then." Ginta offered as an excuse.

"You had your mind on more important things when we got back anyway, what with Kagome taking off into the forest. We didn't wish to add onto with nothing." Hakkaku finished.

"I can't believe you two; I thought you had more sense than that." Kouga glared at them both, "Why, I outta…"

"Enough!" Sango spat, "We have more pressing matters at the moment."

"I agree," Miroku chimed in. "We can deal with this later."

Kouga grumbled something incoherent, but turned back around to the battle before them.

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**Congratulations, no Gaelic translations, bwahahahaha.**

**See ya next time, same bat time, same bat channel. (I know, bad pun at the expendable chars behalf, you'll live. :P)**


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